


I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go

by Darkshines1984



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Post 'The Doctor Falls'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-21 03:56:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17635556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkshines1984/pseuds/Darkshines1984
Summary: Clara was intending to rescue the Doctor from the Mondesian Cybermen, but Bill beat her to it. Instead it’s a very different Time Lord she had swooped in and saved.





	1. I Was Born in a Thunder Storm

Clara brushed an errant curl away from the Time Lords brow, pleased to finally feel that her brow was returning to a more normal temperature. When Clara had first pulled her from the obliterated landscape, she had been cold to the touch, on the very edge of death. Then, after a lot of work with a Sontarian medical device she had acquired at the Maldovarium. Me had been weary of visiting a black market but Clara fancied a bit of danger and the chance to make some useful purchases. Surely a heady combination of shopping and danger was every girl’s dream?

Clara tried to tuck the hair neatly back in place, marvelling at how peaceful the Gallifreyan looked when she was sleeping. There was no sign of the maniacal chaotic air that usually surrounded Missy. It was strange to be sat in the same room as the other woman without feeling threatened, emotional prodded or flirted with. Not that Clara had spent much time in Missy’s presence. There had only really been that time on Skaro when Missy had floated between fluttering at her and pushing her down twenty-foot holes in the ground.

Taking that into account, it was no wonder Ashildr had looked at her like she had lost her mind when Clara dashed out their TARDIS to rescue the crazed brunette.

She had programmed the pattern of the Doctor’s TARDIS into her own when they had transported it from London to Nevada. They had seen that the TARDIS was perilously close to a black hole, scanned the ship it was on and realised the Doctor was battling Cybermen. Clara’s plan had been to rescue him but his friend, who had been turned into a Cyberman and then for some inexplicable reason a puddle, had beat her to it. 

Clara wasn’t sure exactly what had happened to Missy, other than the fact she had taken a massive laser hit to the back. So massive it couldn’t have come from a Cyberman and its results so damaging she couldn’t even regenerate. It was a mystery she hoped the Time Lady would answer once she woke up. Clara hoped she would at least be relived enough to be alive (death was for other people after all) and still in a form she seemed to like, to answer a single question. Other than that Clara had no expectations of gratitude or even pleasantries.

Missy’s right eyelid twitched slightly, signalling she was close to a return to consciousness. Clara picked the Sontarian Medical Device up and ran it over the other woman’s horizontal form. Her vitals looked better than before although Clara wasn’t sure what was optimum for a Time Lord and apparently, neither where the Sontarian’s. She couldn’t complain though; her purchase had done its job.

Missy’s whole face twitched this time, so Clara placed the device down again and rested her hand against the other woman’s upper arm. Hopefully it was a comforting gesture and not one Missy would want to eviscerate her for. Hopefully.

Despite the other woman’s eye twitching it was her mouth that opened first, signalling she was now conscious. Clara shouldn’t have been surprised.

“I always knew you liked me Clara Oswald” Missy smirked.

After over a hundred years the Time Lady’s Scottish brogue caught her off guard. It was a pleasant sound – Clara had always liked the accent despite the fact it belonged to the chaotic woman.

“I wouldn’t go that far” she replied casually – “you’re welcome though, by the way.”

Missy smiled again, this time a little more manically, before fluttering her eyes open. She slammed them closed again instantly, the lights of the med bay obviously a bit too bright for her.

“Dim” Clara instructed the TARDIS – taking sympathy on Missy.

The lighting levels in the room lowered so it was nearly dark, the only light now an orange glow. The Time Lady moaned appreciatively and opened her eyes again. This time after a couple of blinks, Missy managed to open her eyes and keep them open. Clara removed her hand from the other woman’s arm and hooked her thumbs in her pockets.

There was a flicker of what could only be concern across Missy’s face and she tried to sit up suddenly, only to groan and lie back down again. The Sontarian healing process had completed most of its work but the healing process would still be going on for hours yet. Missy was just going to have to stay still and relax for a bit.

It probably wasn’t comfortable, lying down in that outfit. The brown skirt suit resembled that of a Victorian governess – or Mary Poppins. Clara had always wondered why the Time Lords had to wear something at least vaguely pompous. Was it a genetic default? It certainly wasn’t a necessity of time travelling. Ashildr permanently looked like she was going to an indie rock concert and Clara had stuck to her ‘girl you could take home to your mum’ dresses, skirts, sweaters etc. Nobody had taken her any less seriously because she didn’t look like a caricature.

“Where is the Doctor?” the Time Lady asked.

There it was, that concern again. Clara had seen a little worry when Missy had turned up with the Doctor’s confession dial and they had all ended up on the planet of the Daleks. The two Time Lords ‘friendship’ was still a mystery to Clara. She had pried a bit after Skaro and asked the Doctor. His answers had been quite vague – all she had got from him was that they had been best friends through school before life had pulled them in different directions. The look Missy was expressing now, it was different than the one Clara had witnessed in the Italian plaza. It was less hard. It was more open. She wondered what an earth had happened since the last time she had seem either Time Lord (well, Lord and Lady to be precise) to soften Missy’s manic resolve.

“In his TARDIS, regenerating as we speak, I shouldn’t wonder” Clara responded.

She hoped so. The Doctor had appeared in pretty poor shape when she had run her scans but then his TARDIS had taken flight so that seemed like a good sign. 

 “Clever so and so” Missy grinned - “how did he get himself out of that mess?”

‘That mess’ was an accurate description. It was a perilous situation even for the Doctor to find himself in and Clara would love to know how it had come about. First things first though, she would answer Missy’s inquiry.

“He didn’t” she stated.

The other woman looked directly at Clara, her piercing blue eyes full of questions. Once upon a time Clara would have felt uncomfortable and exposed under the gaze, perhaps even threatened. Missy’s energy seemed calmer now and Clara had lived a long life stuck one heartbeat away from death. It shifted your perceptions and fears somewhat.

“From what I can gather, his Cyberwoman friend was rescued by an alien puddle, who turned her into an alien puddle. Then she rescued the Doctor and put him safely in the TARDIS.”

Missy quirked an eyebrow at the fantastical description of events. If Clara hadn’t have watched it unfold on her TARDIS screen, then she’d have rolled her eyes at the explanation if someone else had given it to her. Only when you travelled with the Doctor could something so utterly bizarre occur. Missy seemed to believe her… the Time Lady even looked pleased about it all.

“And now they are lesbian puddling together across the universe” Missy grinned broadly - “Isn’t that nice.”

Her tone was sarcastic but not cutting. Clara suspected Missy wasn’t disappointed about the outcome although happy would be a step too far when describing her enthusiasm.

“Lovely” Clara replied dryly – causing Missy to let out an amused snort.

It probably was nice, in its own way. Clara knew first had what it was like to basically die and then be given life in a different form. It was a second chance, but it wasn’t without its negatives. To those she had known back on Earth she was dead and had never gotten the chance to say goodbye. Now they were long dead and gone and she hadn’t aged a day. She had asked the Doctor once if humans seemed small and insignificant after such a long life. Her life had been nowhere near as long, but it had given her a closer understanding of his perspective. Time may be short for humans, but it was also precious.

Of course, Clara had made this journey with someone who had become her best friend and not a lover. She suspected Ashildr had a bit of a schoolgirl crush on her at first, which was funny considering the other woman was billions of years old. It had faded over time though as they were very different people. They balanced each other out well in terms of travel and adventure but didn’t compliment each other in any romantic sense. Clara was gung-ho and a bit wild, Ashildr more reserved. The other woman tempered her flame when she was at risk of throwing herself off the deep end. The Doctor used to just jump right off the deep end with Clara.

She was dragged from her thoughts by Missy checking her own pulse before letting out a rather unbecoming irked grunting sound.

“I’m about to conk out again in ten seconds” the Time Lady groused.

Clara had no idea how Missy could predict that from just checking her own pulse. She reached out to feel the pulse for herself, grasping the wrist between her fingers as Missy spoke again.

“Nighty night” she said with a grimace – before going completely limp.

Clara looked down at the other woman, caught of guard despite Missy’s warning that it was about to happen. The wrist she was holding was floppy in her hand and Clara wiggled it up and down in fascination. She could feel Missy’s pulses beating steadily under her fingertips, so the Time Lady was indeed just unconscious and not dead (again).

“Night” Clara chuckled to herself.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Clara had sat with Missy for a little while longer, checking that her vitals remained steady. When she was confident Missy was just out for the count whilst her body finished healing, she made her way back to the console room to make sure Ashildr was okay.

She found the other woman sat in the corner of the console room at a reading table they had added to the décor. Ashildr wasn’t reading though, she was simply sat, drumming her fingers on the surface of the table. She looked perturbed, but it was no secret why. Her expression barely altered when she looked at Clara.

“What do you look so pleased about?” the other woman asked.

Clara wasn’t aware she looked particularly pleased until Ashildr pointed it out. She was indeed grinning from ear to ear. She had just brought somebody back from the dead, that was pretty impressive – and with a piece of kit Ashildr had declared a waste of money when Clara had purchased it. It was broken at the time to be fair. The other woman hadn’t counted the TARDIS ability to replicate and create almost any part.

“It worked” Clara grinned smugly.

“I’m still none the wiser” Ashidr groused in return - “we are just asking for trouble saving her and bringing her onboard.”

Clara hadn’t really stopped to think about the possible perils of saving Missy, she’d just acted on instinct. Her instinct had been to save Missy although she didn’t have any very justifiable reasons why. Missy was fascinating, wild and dangerous – Clara liked dangerous. She’d hated Missy for the horrible things she had done but couldn’t help but be drawn to her brashness. The fact Missy had handcuffed her then minutes later pressed her up against a wall had left a lasting impression. She doubted Ashildr would accept that as a good excuse…or any kind of excuse at all.

“She’s the Doctor’s oldest friend” Clara shrugged.

“And his nemesis” the immortal woman added dryly.

It was a hell of a strange friendship and she had never gotten her head around it. One-minute Missy was rocking up with a Cyberman army, then she was desperate to save the Doctor’s life. Clara knew very little about their history, only that it seemed to follow that cycle again and again.

Yet she’d just witnessed the Time Lady’s concern for the Doctor first hand again. Despite the woman’s crazed way of going about things, Clara believed that she did truly view the Doctor as a friend. They were frenemies – even if it was a ridiculous word.

Ashildr stood up slowly and approached, wearing that serious expression she always got when the need to temper Clara’s wild side flared up. Physically, Ashildr was still so young but she had lived a life longer than anyone, including the Doctor. You could see it in her eyes though, all that suffering, loss and loneliness. Clara sometimes wondered if it would have been better for the other woman if she had just let herself forget, rather than writing it all down in her diaries and re-torturing herself with it again and again.

Clara didn’t seem to have any problem retaining memories. Apparently being time locked had its advantages. All the memories she made seemed to lock firmly in place.

“Clara, don’t you think this courting danger a little too closely for comfort?” Ashildr asked carefully.

Clara rolled her eyes at the tone. It was like being chastised by your mother, except your mother looked ten years younger than you and could probably snap you in half if you ignored her. She didn’t have much to say in response. _Yes, and?_

“Most people…all people…would probably welcome the death of The Master” the other woman expanded - “yet here we are…bringing her back from the dead.”

It really had been a gut instinct to save Missy. She hadn’t contemplated the wider effects on the rest of the universe if the Time Lady started raising alien armies again. There was a moral grey area there that Clara thought best avoided. As for any danger the two of them were likely to be in…she doubted Missy would stick around long enough to cause any problems. She didn’t know how she felt about that.

“I don’t know what you are fussing about” Clara grumbled – “she’ll probably bugger off as soon as she’s awake.”

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Missy hadn’t left when she woke up again.

Clara had slipped back into the medical bay and sat with her for another couple of hours. She’d gone through several chapters of a rather worn copy of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. It was one of Clara’s favourites, but she hadn’t read it for around twenty years. She’d branched out into reading works from across the galaxies, but she always loved returning to the Earth classics.

Missy hadn’t signalled she was wide awake again like any normal person. Instead Clara had nearly jolted herself out of the chair when the other woman had sat bolt upright and dramatically cracked each shoulder blade. The Time Lady had declared she hadn’t been horizontal for so long in years and that she was going to go find herself a room. Then she was gone, lose in the TARDIS with no apparent plan of leaving any time soon.

Clara had slinked back to the control room to pre-warn Ashildr, only to find that the immortal brunette was elsewhere on the ship. She had spent a good hour hunting the other woman out, the TARDIS being surprisingly unhelpful in the matter, before finding her in the swimming pool. Ashildr had simply scowled at the news and swam away from her. Clara was left with the impression that her friend was quite pissed off.

She had gone for a shower and a change – she’d even tried to sleep for a bit. It was more out of habit than necessity. At best she could only do so for a couple of hours at a time, except on this day…or night (it was hard to keep track in the TARDIS) she failed to get any at all. She had picked up her book, planning to carry on reading. Instead her curiosity had won out and she’d placed the book down and went for a walk. Somewhere on her TARDIS, Missy had taken up residence…and Clara really wanted to know where and why.

After the debacle earlier when she couldn’t find Ashildr, she had expected it to take even longer to find the Time Lady. She had half expected to wander around for a couple of hours with no success. Instead she had only turned down the next corridor from her room when she heard the faint sound of piano music. 

Clara steadied her pace, coming to a halt in front of the doorway the music was emanating from. The door, which had taken the form of an old heavy oak door, wasn’t completely shut which seemed like an invitation. It begged the question, what was she being invited in to. Was it like the ancient Greek sailors being drawn to the Sirens song?

Clara pushed the door open slightly more but froze in the doorway. It had masked the sound quite a bit, despite being partially open. Now that more sound could escape, she instantly recognised the melody that Missy was playing. How could she forget? It was the song that the Doctor had played in the diner, when he had first lost his memories of her. She was just a hole – he could work out the events from the hole she had left but no details or feelings about her. It was a sad melody and reflective, but it was also hauntingly lovely.

It seemed even more melodic when played on the piano and drew Clara another couple of steps into the room. Except it wasn’t just a single room. Apparently, the TARDIS had created her an entire apartment. Or Missy had created it for herself.

The first room was a hybrid between a study, living room and library. There was a desk at one end of the room and many bookcases at the other. In-between there sat two comfy armchairs with a coffee table between them. The wall behind the armchairs had a fireplace with a roaring fire. The décor had a retro feeling with dim lights, lots of wood, portraits and electric lamps. There was also a sink and sideboard with a kettle and a tea set. Clara liked it, it had character.

The fact it had two arm chairs suggested Missy wasn’t completely against company, so Clara continued into the room. On either side of the fireplace there were another two doors. One was closed shut so Clara presumed it was a bedroom – although the idea of Missy sleeping (when not unconscious) seemed ridiculous. People had to be able to wind down and relax to sleep.

The other door was open and that was where the sound of the piano was coming from. Clara’s curiosity was too peaked to turn back now so she continued forward to the next room. It was on a slightly higher level than the door, with a couple of steps up onto the main level. Clara stood on the first step and leant on the small stair rail. It was quite a large space, but very sparsely decorated, with windows down the long wall which emitted artificial daylight. The walls were grey but with a tingle of blue lighting. On the other side of the rail was another two armchairs. Then in the very centre of the room there stood a beautiful ebony piano, the Time Lady sat (with her back to Clara) on the stool in front of it, her body angled forward as she played.

Seconds after entering the room, Missy seemed to register her presence. Or, more likely, Missy had known the second Clara had entered the first room and was now only choosing to acknowledge it. The Time Lady slowed her playing right down until it trailed off into silence.

“Clara Oswald” she greeted, without even turning around.

Now that she had found Missy, Clara wasn’t sure what to say. It didn’t help that the soft piano playing had caught her off guard. Nor did it help that the two rooms she had witnessed in Missy’s apartment contrasted so greatly. One was homely and warm, one was stark and cold. Was it just indicative of Missy’s chaotic state of mind? Clara filed her musings away for later.

“I just wanted to see if you were okay” she stated.

It wasn’t entirely true, but it wasn’t a lie either. It did make her sound like she was a hotel concierge though, making her cringe at the choice of words. Perhaps she should just run off a list of her TARDIS facilities, instruct Missy to enjoy her stay, cut her losses and escape before Missy verbally tore her to shreds. Instead, Missy swung her legs around, so she was now sat facing Clara.

“Or where you worried that I was getting up to mischief?” the Time Lady asked with glittering eyes and a smirk.

Clara simply rolled her own eyes in response and stepped up into the room, so she was on the same level as Missy. There wasn’t any point in denying the suggestion. Part of her had been concerned that Missy would latch onto the fact that Ashildir was unhappy about her presence and torment the other woman. Clara would like to avoid that where possible as her friend was already pissed enough with her.

Instead, Missy seemed to have retreated into her own space. That didn’t mean mischief wasn’t to come but for now the Time Lady seemed calm and content. Clara had never seen her so still and steady, her experiences of the other woman had been limited but there had been a restless, wild and slightly crazed energy practically vibrating from Missy. That had been a very long time ago.

“I always thought I would see you again at some point” Clara admitted - “I’m surprised it’s taken so long.”

A hundred years was probably the blink of an eye to Missy, but it was a long time not to have run into each other somewhere, especially when Clara had a nose for trouble. She had been surprised that the Time Lady hadn’t hunted her down as a source of light entertainment. Missy had put her and the Doctor together and created the ‘hybrid’ for her own amusement, so Clara thought she may enjoy bathing in its afterglow.

“Well you can blame the Doctor for the delay puppy” Missy responded with a grin - “he’s had me locked in a vault for the last eighty years.”

She knew that the Doctor had sent Missy’s previous regeneration to Gallifrey to be imprisoned, but doing it himself…? She couldn’t picture it, nor did Missy seem all that bitter about it. It did explain why Clara had seen and heard nothing of the Time Lady.

“Yet you asked after him?” Clara pointed out.

Missy rose to her feet and took a step forward towards Clara. There was still more than three metres between them so there was nothing threatening about the movement. In fact, Clara found herself drawn towards the other woman and she took another couple of steps into the room.

“Well he was meant to be executing me so on the balance of things…” Missy shrugged.

Clara was sure she was gawping at the other woman. It made a lot more sense that the Doctor would choose to hide his childhood friend away rather than end her life. She hadn’t understood why he kept letting Missy live when they travelled together but time and experience had made her realise that nothing was ever THAT black and white.

Missy was moving, not towards Clara, but away behind the piano. As she took slow, measured steps, she trailed the fingertips of her left hand across the shiny lacquered surface of the musical instrument. Clara’s eyes followed every single movement, not out of fear but out of fascination for the way Missy practically floated. Her attention was ensnared even more when Missy delicately hopped up onto the piano, lounging elegantly across it with her chin propped up by a hand. The Time Lady lifted her legs at her knees and crossed her ankles.

Despite the fact Missy hadn’t uttered a word, the pose felt undeniably flirtatious. Not that it was a surprise to Clara or completely new. Missy had fluttered and flirted something wicked on Skaro - in a sadistic slightly terrifying way. This was a bit safer and more subdued. It was also a bit more attractive.

Clara shook away that thought as quickly as it came. That was dangerous territory she was treading on.

“I like what you’ve done with the place” she joked - “it’s very Spartan.”

Clara had expected it all to feel very Victorian but neither room fit that description. The other room had character though, this room felt completely soulless. Spartan didn’t really cover it.

Her question caused a shift in Missy’s expression. The Time Lady’s face fell from being jovial to reflective – but in the blink of an eye that expression was masked.

“For some reason your TARDIS modelled it on my vault” the other woman admitted, with a small disbelieving shake of her head.

Clara had an unsettled feeling in her stomach, like a stone sinking down through water. She would be having words with the ship for being so casually cruel because the truth was, that no matter how disturbed Ashildir was by her presence, Clara wanted Missy to feel safe. There had been no agenda behind saving the Time Lady and she was free to go at any time. She was also free to stay although Clara doubted Missy stayed anywhere for long.

“You’re not a prisoner here” she assured the other woman.

Missy’s eyes searched Clara’s from across the room, looking for evidence she was being sincere? Clara wasn’t sure. Missy was a puzzle she was a million miles away from cracking. After a few seconds of intense staring (although Missy’s eyes always looked intense), she propped her cheek on her fist and lightly taped her thumb against her temple. It was a contemplative look and a deep one. Clara wondered what thought process lay behind the pensiveness. She doubted she would ever get close to knowing.

The conversation seemed to be over. Or at least, it didn’t seem likely Missy would instigate any conversation herself and Clara didn’t want to outstay her welcome. She’d check on her again in a few hours if the Time Lady was still their guest.

Clara turned away and walked the couple of the paces back to the steps. She stopped at the top of them and glanced back at Missy. The other woman was still lying across the piano, her thoughts elsewhere. Clara had almost forgotten what she had heard upon entering the space the TARDIS had carved out for the Time Lady.

“That song you were playing…?” she asked – leaving the question hanging in the space between them.

Missy looked up at her again, the expression on her face different from anything Clara had seen previously. It was almost ‘soft’ – her eyes so much less hard than normal, a slight smile gracing her lips. 

“The Doctor used to sit and play it on his guitar all the time” Missy responded - “I thought it was rather beautiful.”

Clara felt her chest flutter and her heart beat just that little bit faster at Missy’s words. Although she wasn’t sure if it was the Time Lady’s choice of words or the idea of the Doctor, still playing her song, even though he couldn’t remember her. She was just a hole in his memories, like a person cut out of a photograph – out of every photograph. The word ‘beautiful’ echoed around her head as she wondered if Missy knew the significance of the song. It was surprising that Missy found beauty in anything other than destruction. Clara supposed if she was going to find beauty in anything else it would be the Doctor’s melancholy. It wouldn’t have anything to do with Clara herself.

“What’s it called?” she tested.

This time the other woman’s smile was broader, knowing even. It was a look that Clara had found exasperating on Skaro when she hadn’t known the answer too. It was less irksome when you were in on the secret.

“Why my dear I think you know the answer to that already” Missy drawled - “It’s called Clara.”


	2. I Wore Envy and I Hated That

Ashildr was irked – no irked didn’t cut it. Fuming? Furious? Seething? Enraged? Incensed? Clara was an ex English teacher, she could go on and on listing synonyms. The fact was, that Ashildr at ranted at her for at least twenty minutes straight in an unusually animated manner. 

The subject for this rant was their guest. Ashildr was pretty livid that Missy was still present despite the fact more than twenty-four hours had passed since the Time Lady had awoken. Clara hadn’t seen Missy since she’d walked in on her playing the piano. As far as she was aware Missy hadn’t left her quarters since then. Clara hadn’t seen Ashildr either, something which hasn’t concerned her at the time, but meant that she hadn’t prewarned the other immortal that Missy seemed to be getting comfortable on their ship.

Unfortunately, Ashildr had discovered this fact for herself after waltzing into Missy’s study come lounge area. According to Ashildr, the ‘crazy bitch’ had mocked her, inquired after the nature of her and Clara’s relationship and rudely shooed her away. Clara had smiled and suggested knocking in future, which had made Ashildr even angrier. The only way she had calmed the younger looking woman was to promise she would go and speak to Missy and find out what was going on. So, Clara was on her way to the Time Lady’s guest (?!?!) rooms to do just that.

She knocked on the door even though it was cracked open an inch again. There was no answer, so Clara opened the door a little more and poked her head into the room. It hadn’t changed from the day before – or perhaps there were a few more books and nick-nacks lying around. Clara stepped further into the room, heading in the direction of the doorway to the plain room with the piano. She had thought this first room empty until someone stood up from behind the desk.

Clara slammed to a stop and angled her body towards the desk. Her jaw nearly hit the floor as she took in the appearance of the Time Lady. Missy seemed just as interested in taking in Clara’s own appearance – her eyes running down and then back up Clara’s yellow sweater and black skirt. 

“Missy…wow…hi” she stammered.

The other woman was not wearing her normal old-fashioned style of clothing. Instead she was wearing a dress that stopped just below knee level, with a slit on one side that stopped half way up her thigh. The neck line was conservative, the sleeves short, but it fitted the Time Lady’s form perfectly – highlighting and enhancing every curve. The dress was blue and brown patterned, the swirls resembling leaves. The blue in the dress bringing out the vibrant colour of Missy’s eyes even more sharply than usual.

“It’s not your usual…erm…style” Clara added after a few seconds of staring.

It wasn’t just the dress that had caused Clara’s brain to momentarily short circuit. Missy’s hair, which was usually pulled up in a severe bun, was long, loose and flowing. It fell in waves down over her shoulders, framing her face and red painted lips.

“Don’t you like it?” Missy asked in mock innocence.

Clara opened her mouth to reply before closing it again, giving herself a moment to think before answering. The other woman looked fantastic – but she couldn’t say that. That would be weird, and Missy would enjoy it far too much. Although Missy seemed to be enjoying the look on her face from the smirk the Time Lady was sporting.

“No, its…nice…you look nice” Clara stammered under the intense gaze.

Missy’s grin only broadened the more flustered Clara looked. The problem was, the more pleased the Time Lady looked by it all, the more flustered she got.

“I’m not sure nice was what I was aiming for but thankyou anyway dear” Missy chirped.

As she spoke, the Time lady, lent against the desk so she was half sitting on it, placing both hands on the desk and propping some weight on them. Clara wondered if the other woman was just naturally provocative or if it was something that she had worked on. For her own sanity, Clara needed to move away from the topic of Missy’s striking good looks. Not that she was striking – what was Clara even thinking?!

 

“Ashildr” Clara blurted out.

She blushed even more furiously at her lack of ability to form a coherent sentence. She tried to hide her embarrassment by flattening some strands of hair that had fluffed up as she sped walk from the console room to this part of the TARDIS.

“She’s a bit…” Clara tried again before faltering.

“Dull?” Missy suggested with a smirk.

Clara rolled her eyes at the other woman. If this was the attitude Missy had taken with Ashildr then it was no wonder the girl from the Viking village was storming around the console room like something possessed. She remembered how irked it had made her when Missy had dismissed her as being the Doctor’s pet.

“Annoyed” Clara corrected.

Missy looked aghast by the suggestion that she could be somehow to blame for that. She pushed off the desk and back onto her feet, before slowly stepping around the desk. It was reminiscent of the day before when Missy had moved around the piano, running her fingers along the surface as she moved.

“I really don’t know why” the Time Lady said as she moved - “I was just in my own space, minding my own business, when she burst in and asked why I was still here.”

Missy came to a halt in front of the desk so the space between them felt seriously decreased. Clara’s heart rate picked up, a little through fear and a little through…something else entirely. She willed her body not to be quite so traitorous.

Missy brought both hands around in front of her at stomach level and brushed her fingertips together. Clara’s eyes were drawn to her bright red nail polish. It matched the colour of the lipstick that the Time Lady was wearing. Clara dropped her eyes lower towards the floor, trying to avoid eye contact. Instead she got an eyeful of smooth naked lower legs.

“I didn’t kill her – I knew you wouldn’t want me to” Missy added, fluttering her eyelashes in Clara’s direction when she glanced up at the Time Lady again.

“I’m not sure she can be killed” Clara chuckled.

She hadn’t missed the fact the other woman had claimed not to try for her, but it was something to pack away for consideration later. Instead she chose to focus on the fact Ashildr had survived billions of years due to the Mire repair kit – something she doubted even Missy could bypass.

“Is that a challenge?!” the Time Lady asked gleefully.

“No!” Clara panicked.

She didn’t think Missy was being serious but the last thing she needed was the maniacal woman dodging around the TARDIS trying to find ways of destroying her friend. If Ashildr was pissed off now Clara could only imagine how she would react to that. On top of that, Clara suspected that it would indeed be possible to kill Ashildr if you understood the cause of her immortality. A strong enough blast of something to take her down and you could probably dig the Mire repair kit out. The Doctor had known that, and she had no doubt Missy would be as similarly well versed in Mire tech.

“Just please Missy – if you want to stay – please try to be vaguely nice to her and I will ask her to keep out of your way too” Clara pleaded.

It was only once the words were out of her mouth that she realised what she had offered. She had given Missy the option to travel with them without a second thought (or permission from her friend and travel companion). It wasn’t something she had realised she wanted – well perhaps she didn’t want it per say – but she wasn’t against it either. This was why she shouldn’t be sent to negotiate with hot women who were dressed impeccably. It was a weakness, especially when not forewarned and forearmed.

“Well as you asked so nicely” the Time Lady responded smoothly.

Clara stammered slightly before simply nodding her head. She backed a couple steps away from the other woman before turning and leaving the room post haste, only stopping to close the door behind her.

Apparently, Missy was planning to stay. Ashildr was going to kill her.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

When the chameleon circuit of the TARDIS had malfunctioned so that it permanently externally looked like an American Diner, Clara had thought it quirky and fun. The Doctor’s TARDIS was stuck as an old Police Box, so it seemed fitting hers should be stuck as something too. Ashildr had tried to fix it and failed and Clara hadn’t even bothered.

Over time she realised that it was a quirk she rather enjoyed when travelling around the galaxy. Sometimes when they would land somewhere new, she would open it up as an actual diner for a couple of days and use it as an opportunity to meet and talk to a range of interesting people. The only fee for a drink or a meal was a story or sometimes, like the Doctor had with his guitar, aliens provided a variety of entertainment.

So, when they had landed in the year 2121 on an Earth Colony in the Triangulum Galaxy, she had set up shop for the day. Often Ashildr would go off exploring on her own whilst Clara served milkshakes as she didn’t see the appeal in conversing with people for hours. Today, the other woman had decided to stay behind inside the TARDIS, terrified at the prospect of Missy emerging from her rooms and stealing the ship away from under them.

There hadn’t been any signs of the Time Lady emerging (although she suspected she had gone as far as the library a few doors down to borrow some books) and Clara had locked everyone except her and Ashildr out of the controls. That had done little to reassure her friend though, so Clara had left her too it.

The diner was quite busy with most of the tables taken by mainly humans, all chatting and enjoying the ‘retro’ drinks and food. Clara had listened to many people share their experiences. It was starting to quieten down now, the middle of the day rush nearly over. There was currently no one to serve so she was sat at the counter, reading another chapter of Wuthering Heights.

She was so engrossed in the story that she didn’t notice the door to the inside of the TARDIS open. So, when a figure loomed over the counter at her and grasped the corner of the book she nearly jumped out of her skin. The woman was that close that all Clara could see was masses of dark auburn hair and a leather jacket. She knew it was Missy straight away because no one else would invade her personal space quite so unapologetically.

The Time Lady looked at the cover of the book before releasing it, tilting her head up to smile wickedly at Clara. Missy’s face, with its piercing blue eyes and painted red lips were only a couple of inches away from her own. It made Clara’s breath catch in the back of her throat – which wasn’t an issue because she technically didn’t need to breath anymore – it was just a habit.

**“If you ever looked at me once with what I know is in you, I would be your slave” Missy quoted – her Scottish accent thick and lilting.**

**It fitted Missy, to quote a character as wild, passionate and dangerous as Heathcliff. Especially when the other woman was dressed in a leather jacket with an attitude all of its own. The Time Lady looked great, Clara could attest to that from close up, but it wasn’t a feeling she felt remotely comfortable with. So, she pushed off the counter and on to her feet, giving a slightly more comfortable distance between them.**

**The quote Missy had chosen was designed to draw a reaction out of her. It was designed to be flirtatious and throw her off keel. She knew this – so why was it still working?**

**Clara turned her back on Missy and placed her book down on the unit behind the counter, but even with her back to the other woman she could still feel those blue eyes on her. She glanced over her shoulder – blushing instantly when she caught Missy’s eyes roaming appreciatively down her body.**

**“Nice outfit” the Time Lady smirked as soon as she realised, she had been caught - “did you pick it up at a sex shop?”**

**Clara knew Missy was just goading her – that the other woman’s expression had told a different story. It had been look of admiration and not the casual mockery she had chose to aim Clara’s way. She took a deep sigh and turned towards the other woman, placing both hands down on the counter and holding eye contact with her.**

**“Can I get you a milkshake or anything?” Clara asked – choosing to ignore the comment entirely.**

**Missy’s grin only seemed to grow in response to the lack of reaction. Clara knew that the other woman liked it when people didn’t rise to her immediately, it made it more like a game of cat and mouse. When Missy didn’t verbally respond, Clara moved away and began to make the raven-haired woman her personal favourite, a very berry milkshake. There had been a temptation to make her a banana one, to match the Time Lady’s personality.**

**When she turned back with the completed drink, she discovered that Missy had taken the empty table right in front of the counter. Clara hadn’t even noticed her move, which was a bit disconcerting. She stepped around the counter to deliver the milkshake, unsurprised that the Time Lady would expect waitress service. She was surprised when Missy lightly grasped her wrist as she placed the drink down. It meant Clara was held half bent over directly in front of Missy’s twinkling, mischief filled eyes.**

**“Mmmmm I had a fantasy like this once” the other woman drawled.**

From the lustful look on Missy’s face as she took her form in, Clara didn’t doubt her words. She was even a little complimented by the attention, something she suspected was a dangerous trap to fall into. This was probably how a male Praying Mantis felt just before it had its head bit off.

Clara couldn’t stop herself swallowing nervously at the proximity again and the warm tingling feeling she could feel where Missy’s hand was in contact with her skin. The Time Lady let out a quiet, pleased little moan at Clara’s reaction before gently releasing the wrist. It allowed Clara to straighten up again, but she didn’t instantly run away.

Instead, Clara edged a little further away and sat herself on the edge of the table. She observed Missy for a moment, as if staring at her would reveal why she was here right now and why she seemed to have no interest in leaving the TARDIS. Was Ashildr right and she was waiting for them to get complacent, so she could steal their ship or do something else dastardly? Or was Clara gut feeling right? Missy had been trapped in a vault for years, likely with only herself for company a lot of the time. She seemed different to Clara – not fundamentally, she was still a force to be reckoned with – but she seemed to have a less hard edge. Was this a lonelier woman was reaching out to Clara in her own, obnoxious way? Was this wishful thinking on Clara’s part?

Missy took a sip of her milkshake via the straw, smirking as she did so. That smirk turned into a dangerous smile – the kind where somebody looked like they were cheerfully bearing their teeth. It was predatory, and it was sexy – highlighting her sharp facial structures and perfect symmetry. Clara’s own eyes betrayed her and flickered down the other woman appreciatively. There was something about a woman in a leather jacket that Clara always found a little attractive but Missy in leather was a sight to behold.

“Oh Clara, ask me whatever it is you want to ask me” the Time Lady chuckled – “you’ve been dying to quiz me ever since I opened my eyes in your medical bay.”

It was an annoying ability that Missy seemed to have, to see through her despite the fact she tried to be unreadable. She wasn’t an open book by any means – the Doctor was often easy to befuddle but that was because of his lack of social cues, but Ashildr often seemed clueless as to what was going on in her head. Her friend knew if something was on her mind but usually didn’t press any further.

Of course, she had questions, how could she not? Questions about the events that had led to the mess on the Mondassian ship and how Missy had gotten herself killed. Questions about Missy and the Doctor’s past. Questions about Missy in general because like it or not, Clara was fascinated about how the Time Lady spent her time when she wasn’t causing the Doctor problems. She wasn’t sure how keen the other woman would be to give away anything about herself.

“What was the Doctor like when he was a child?” Clara asked.

It seemed like a logical way in – to encourage Missy to talk about the formation of a deep friendship and not all the negative things that followed.

“That’s the question you are going with?” the Time Lady asked with a quirked eyebrow.

 “I have so many things I want to ask you but its as good as any place to start” Clara shrugged.

The other woman took another sip of her milkshake, this time there was a more thoughtful expression on her face. Clara watched with interest as a series of new emotions flickered across Missy’s eyes, finally settling on a surprisingly soft look. Fondness…it was a fond look.

Missy placed the glass down and lent back in the seat, opening her body more which made her seem more human than Clara had seen her look before.

“When I first met him in school, I just thought he was weird just like everyone else did. He kept to himself and he was quiet – thought he was mute to be honest.”

The Time Lady snorted as she finished the sentence but there was no malice in it. There was a distant look in her eyes as she recalled events that must have happened hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Clara knew the Doctor was around 2000 years old but had no idea of Missy’s age. As they were time travellers there could be at significant difference between them – she wasn’t really sure how it all worked. There wasn’t any time to consider it any further as after a deep breath, the other woman ploughed on with her answer.

“Then one day, in the middle of a very boring dimensional physics class, he completely baffled everyone by spouting poetry. The teacher was furious but it…it was brilliant, they just couldn’t see it. The words were an artistic, visceral, figurative description of the theory we were discussing. It was far to clever for everyone else in the class to understand except for myself…obviously. From there a friendship was born.”

Clara had no expectations of what kind of answer Missy would give but this was more than she had hoped for. She found herself inching closer to the other woman as she listened, her eyes locked upon the raven-haired woman. Her voice seemed more melodic, her face so much less severe. This glimpse of a more open Time Lady was captivating.

“We used to get into the worst trouble together, sneaking into the cloisters, sneaking out of the boring lessons…usually in the search for more. More knowledge, more…more than the insular life the rest of Gallifrey was now living with its non-interference policy and rigid hierarchy.”

Clara smiled at the idea of the two of them, younger and with entirely different faces, driving their teachers mad. Her smile widened when she realised that Missy was smiling fondly too at the memories she was describing. It was hard to believe that this friendship could lead to the love hate head to head relationship that the Master and the Doctor now shared. Missy was the only regeneration that Clara had met but she knew a little about the Master from things she had read and of course she knew about Harold Saxon and the year that never was. A Cyberman army made up of the dead was small fry compared to some of the horror’s Clara had read about. It was hard to equate the woman sat in front of her to those stories. It was likely yet another dangerous thought – she seemed to be full of them today.

“What happened…” she asked nervously - “what happened to make you tread such different paths?”

“Life, luck, other people…too many different things to even remember yet alone to try and explain” Missy frowned.

Clara felt her breath catch in the back of her throat simply because the other woman had answered without any sarcasm or ire. Instead the Time Lady looked like she was genuinely considering her answer and reflecting on the past. Even the simple, explanation less answer, would had satisfied her interest at this time but to her surprise Missy continued.

“The Doctor may have told you about the untempered schism?” the auburn-haired lady asked.

Clara didn’t recognise the name, and she recalled most of what he had told her – especially if it related to his past. She simply shook her head in response, not wanting to break Missy’s flow by speaking.

The Time Lady sat up taller again, so her back was no longer being supported by the diner’s red bench seat. Her fingers pressed against the edge of the table, fidgeting in a way that Clara hadn’t witnessed before. Yes, she’d seen Missy bounding around and unable to remain still – the levels of energy rippling from the Time Lady on Skaro had been immense. This was different though, Missy was muted and calm, the movement much more understated.

“Well, during the Time Lord selection process – when we were only children – we both looked into the time vortex through something called the untampered schism. I saw all of time and space – countless lives beginning and ending in a never-ending cycle. War, famine, poverty…every type of misery you could imagine. It was vast, it was terrible, and it was hopeless. Then from that day on I had this drumming in my head, like a rhythm of four beats playing over and over again. It wasn’t too bad at first, but it got louder and louder and it was maddening. Now I’m completely banana’s, nuts, mad, cuckoo…and any other adjectives you can think of along a similar line.”

Missy rolled her eyes as she mocked her own state of mind. That toothy smile returned but there was no malice behind it, just a deep sense of frustration. Clara could not imagine living her everyday like with a consistent irritating noise playing over and over again in her head. There was a couple of days, many years ago, when the radiator in her flat had malfunctioned. It hummed constantly until the landlord got around to having it repaired. It drove Clara to distraction when she was trying to mark homework, so she had taken the work to a late-night café to get away from the sound. It had also made it a nightmare to sleep so she had played music quietly all night to drown the sound out. That was just over the period of forty-eight hours, not hundreds and hundreds of years.

“The Doctor doesn’t hear them?” Clara half asked, and half stated.

It seemed crazy that it would affect one that way and not the other. She could understand how that would make Missy bitter but as the Time Lady had explained, it had only been one factor in the creation of the two friends bitter battle.

“No” Missy replied – scrunching her nose in what looked to be disgust as she spoke – “the High Council purposely put it in my head.”

Clara felt a mixture of emotions at this revelation and she was sure they were written all over her face. She was horrified that anyone could do that to a child but unsurprised that the Gallifreyan High Council would do something so heinous. They had locked the Doctor in his own confession dial after all, and all just for an answer to one question. They had caused the situation that led to her own death on the trap street and ironically created the exact thing they feared. For both those events combined had led to the Doctor losing his cool in such a way that they became the hybrid. It had been a self-fulfilling prophesy.  

Clara was also angry. Angry for Missy and how terrible it must be to live with such an affliction and even angrier than she had previously been with the High Council. That anger also led her to feel sympathy for the Time Lady, something she hoped wasn’t too apparent as it would probably not be welcomed by the other woman.

Those fingers that had fidgeting at the edge of the table stopped, only for Missy to begin drumming the fingers of one hand more firmly against the table top. It took Clara a couple of seconds to realise what the tapping meant – it was the rhythm of four beats. The Time Lady closed her eyes as she did it, making her look oddly vulnerable. After a few repetitions Clara couldn’t stand it anymore – not so much the sound itself but that fact that it existed in Missy’s head in the first place. She wished she could somehow take it away for her and was even more frustrated by the fact that was impossible. If it were possible the Doctor surely would have done so long ago.

Clara reached out on instinct and pressed her fingers over the top of the Time Lady’s, stilling the movement and the sound. She was surprised how warm and soft the other woman’s skin was against her own. Not as surprised as Missy looked by her actions though. Her bright blue eyes nearly bulged out of her head and her jaw slackened slightly, her gaze falling upon their hands. Clara wondered if it this was the moment when Missy would snap at her or eviscerate her but instead was left stunned when the other woman slid her fingers between Clara’s, so they were lightly entwined.

The Time Lady’s eyes appeared to be locked upon those hands with a look of wonderment. Clara couldn’t begin to imagine why the simple action had caused such shock but the silence that followed was bordering on awkward. Some explanation for her actions was surely necessary or Missy was going to think she had gone bananas too.

“I’m not a fan of the high council” Clara groused.

It wasn’t much of an explanation, more of a statement of fact. It did draw the other woman’s eyes back to Clara’s own. That look of wonder was still lingering in Missy’s eyes, but it was being gradually replaced by an amused smile. It wasn’t as infuriating as the Time Lady’s usual pleased grin but there was a sense of smugness there that Clara chose to ignore.

“No” Missy chuckled - “me neither.”

Clara was becoming hyper aware of the physical contact and proximity between them, made more intense by the other woman’s piercing eye contact. It wasn’t uncomfortable or weird…which made it uncomfortable and weird. This was not the sort of intimacy that Clara expected or desired from the Time Lady. Or it certainly wasn’t supposed to be. The lines in the sand were shifting and that was a little scary.

She gently moved her hand out of the other woman’s light grasp, careful not to jerk it away quickly and look even more awkward than she felt. Clara placed her hands on her own lap, lightly toying with the edge of her white apron to calm her nerves. Missy seemed aware she was having some sort of affect on her though and her earlier cocky smile returned. As the Time Lady reached for her milkshake again it was impossible to see any evidence of the reflective woman that had been present just moments before. Clara wanted to roll her eyes at that cocky expression, but she couldn’t find it within herself to be irritated by it. Not when she had seen Missy clearly react to the contact between them too and after the Time Lady had actually shared something personal with her.

“Thank you” Clara blurted out.

She hadn’t meant to say it quite so eagerly, it just seemed important that she acknowledge the trust the other woman had just put in her. It may not be the universes biggest secret, but it was information that could make Missy appear vulnerable to Clara is she was the kind of person to exploit it.

Missy, unsurprisingly, looked overjoyed at her awkwardness. The other woman slowly raised the glass higher towards her mouth, her eyes locked with Clara’s. Her tongue darted out suggestively to catch the straw before locking her cherry red lips around it. As the Time Lady drew some of the drink up through the straw – the sucking motion highlighting those wonderful cheekbones – she winked.

Clara couldn’t help but smile at the attention, she was only human after all, and her eyes fell bashfully down towards her own feet. She shook her head lightly at Missy antics and at her own body for betraying her.

She was saved any further embarrassment by another customer entering the diner, allowing her to escape behind the counter. She was grateful for the space it awarded her from Missy, but it didn’t save her from any further flirting. The Time Lady managed to eke her milkshake out for at least an hour, all the while her eyes seemed to follow Clara. Every time Clara gave in and made eye contact, she was the focus of one of the other woman’s most flirtatious grins. It was maddening…but Clara couldn’t deny that she was enjoying the attention.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

It was later in the evening when Clara had shut up shop. Ashildir has disappeared out into city as soon as Clara had got back into the main part of the TARDIS, the atmosphere still a little frosty between them. No doubt her friend had gone to sample the local culture and cuisine.

Missy had made a joke about fancying pizza before leaving the diner earlier in the day and had been disgusted that Clara didn’t serve any. So, after changing out of her waitress uniform, Clara had dashed out of the TARDIS to pick up a pizza. The galaxy network (think trip adviser for the future) had located one just a two-minute walk away. Clara had pre-ordered and then jogged there and back, not wishing Ashildir to discover she had left Missy on the TARDIS alone.

As she headed down the corridor to the Time Lady’s rooms Clara started to reconsider the plan. She didn’t know what had possessed her in the first place. It was preferable to believe that it was an act of kindness – that she was grateful to Missy for opening up to her earlier. Of course, the milkshake was meant to be the reward for a story. Clara couldn’t deny the fact she was fascinated by the Time Lady. It wasn’t a new fascination, but it had been tempered, or even surpassed, by fear of the other woman. Perhaps she was being lulled into a false sense of security, she wouldn’t put it past Missy to trick her, but the fear factor was lessening by the hour.

So, Clara continued to the Time Lady’s rooms. They were only just around the corner from her own, between her bedroom and the library. Considering they were the two places she spent time in other than the console room, it felt like Missy was chipping away at her every time Clara passed the damn door. The damn door that Clara had now came to a halt in front of.

It was slightly ajar, as it had been the two previous occasions that she had called on the Time Lady. Clara rapped on the door a couple of times, waiting for some kind of response before entering. She could hear movement inside but no invitation to enter. Just as she was considering opening the door a little more it swung open in front of her. In place of the door stood Missy, her hair flowing down in dark auburn waves and lips still painted red. Gone was the leather jacket and jeans from earlier and in its place was one of the most sinful dresses Clara had ever had the good fortune to see.

It was made of what looked like velvet and dark green in colour with sleeves that bunched around the elbows. It was long but had slits on both sides virtually up to the waist. The neck line – if you could call it that – was a different material in a lighter shade of green, which plummeted down to below the other woman’s breasts. It gave Clara a good eyeful of Missy’s truly spectacular cleavage and so much skin.

It was when Clara started noticing details like the freckles on the Time Lady’s skin that she realised she had been staring at the other woman’s chest for far to long. She already felt more flushed than normal, but when she looked up at Missy’s face again it began blooming into a full cheek burning blush. The other woman looked positively delighted to have attracted such admiration, those incredible blue eyes sparkling with glee.

Clara’s mouth suddenly felt as dry as a desert and on instinct she darted her tongue out to moisten her lower lip. Missy seemed to catch every movement with hawk like focus. The silence had stretched on far too long, so Clara swallowed a couple of times before trying to speak.

“The pizza you requested” she declared – gripping the synthetic neon box a little bit harder than before.

Missy glanced down Clara’s own outfit, jeans and a black fitted jacket, before raking her eyes back up again slowly. Clara could feel those eyes on her like a caress and it was equally thrilling and frightening.

“Unless you have ate already?” she added with an awkward laugh.

“I haven’t eaten” Missy responded – moving her hair out of her face with the back of her hand as she spoke - “I was waiting for my pizza.”

The other woman’s smirk was nearly unbearable. Or perhaps it was the fact that Clara’s actions were that predictable to the Time Lady. That whatever strange emotions she was feeling were not as private as she would wish them and no matter how hard she tried to conceal them they were laid bare in front of Missy.

“Of course you were” Clara sighed with a shake of her head.

Missy’s grin became less of a smirk, softening to an amused smile. She found her gaze falling to the velvet dress again and the way it accentuated the other woman’s long neck. There was a glimpse of strong collar bones which seemed to match the fantastic structure of her face. Clara was not blind, nor was she stupid. Missy, especially in this outfit, was gorgeous and Clara couldn’t deny she was also charismatic. Although, it suddenly dawned on her that it wasn’t the sort of outfit you lounged around your home in.

“You were waiting for your pizza wearing that?” Clara queried.

“Wearing what poppet?” Missy replied – her tone and expression laced with fake innocence.

Clara rolled her eyes again drawing a pleased smile from the other woman. So, the Time Lady really had dressed in the most eye-catching outfit she could find for her benefit. Clara had no idea where Missy had even found the dress on the TARDIS nor did she know what to make of it. Well, she knew exactly what she made of the dress and the other woman wearing it. She just didn’t know what this level of open flirtatiousness meant. There was a huge part of her that wanted the attention to be genuine and a part that hoped that it wasn’t for the sake of her own sanity.

“Want to come in and eat with me?” the Time Lady asked suggestively – stepping sideways to give her space to enter the room.

Clara felt like giving in and going willingly into the lion’s den. In her mind she could picture pressing Missy against that heavy wooden desk and unfastening each button on the front of the other woman’s dress teasingly slowly. Now she was even fantasising about the Time Lady whilst stood right in front of her. This was not healthy…surely this was not healthy?

“I…I’ve already ate” Clara lied.

She knew from a perfectly shaped quirked eyebrow that Missy saw straight through her. The other woman didn’t seem offended – disappointed perhaps – but not offended. Instead Missy offered a warm smile as she reached out and grasped the box, holding it still between them.

“Pity” the Time Lady sighed.

She didn’t get a chance to respond before Missy gently pulled the box away and retreated into her rooms, shutting the door behind her but not fully. It was still cracked open, leaving the possibility for Clara to change her mind. It left Clara staring at the heavy wooden door like the little girl lost – caught between doing just that or sticking to her guns. In the end she chose to retreat in the direction of the library rather than make a hasty decision she may regret later.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Clara entered the library and went straight to one of the large bookshelves which housed hundreds of classic earth novels. It was several rows down, the gap between this one and the next one wider than the others. Between them sat two small reading tables with comfy old leather chairs. The lights in this area were currently dimmed and Clara didn’t notice that someone was sat quietly in the shadows.

“Is this course of action really wise Clara?” her friends voice made her jump.

Clara dropped the copy of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ she had just picked out onto the floor, narrowly missing her pump clad foot. She had no idea when Ashildr had returned to the TARDIS, she only hoped it wasn’t whilst she had snuck out to get pizza. She also had no idea why the other woman was sat alone in an unlit corner of the main library. Usually she would be sat scribbling away in one of her diaries, over in the far corner of the library were her other diaries were stored.

“I don’t know what you are…” Clara started to protest.

“Missy” Ashildr cut in.

She had hoped (although she knew it was wishful thinking) that the other woman was referring to her choice of book. Charles Dickens wasn’t for everyone especially if, like Ashildr, they had lived through the sort of poverty he often wrote about. Unfortunately, the topic of conversation was their guest. The same guest who had only minutes ago put Clara’s head in a spin.

“You have a type” the other woman added - “a Time Lord type.”

“Time Lady” Clara groused – although she had no idea why it irritated her.

Ashildr simply raised her eyebrows in response. It had been no denial at all.

Clara rubbed her palms across her face in frustration. She didn’t know how she felt and wasn’t ready or willing to discuss them with anyone. So, she simply walked away and retired to her room instead – apparently it was the only place of refuge in the whole damn TARDIS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are good. I like comments.


	3. I Have Made Every Single Mistake

Clara had landed the TARDIS on a planet that was meant to be uninhabited. A great deal of the land was populated by dense forest, with many different species of animals, insects and birds. It wasn’t her usual brand of adventure, but Clara was tempted by the idea of hiking on her own in the wilderness for a day. She hoped it would help clear her mind for a little while because ever since she had rescued Missy and allowed her to stay onboard, the other woman had been permanently on her mind.

Since the ‘pizza’ incident (as Clara liked to mentally call it) just a couple of days ago, Missy had on the whole kept to herself. Clara had faintly heard her playing the piano a couple of times when she had passed the rooms. On one of the occasions she had even stood outside the other woman’s door so she could listen to what was being played. She thought it might give her some sort of further insight into the Time Lady – that somehow it may sate the burning curiosity. It hadn’t, it had just made the flame burn brighter because the melodies she had heard were sad and reflective.

Once upon a time she would have expected ‘Dance Macabre’, Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ or something else haunting and gothic. Maybe she would have even banked on a chorus of ‘Hey Mickey’. Instead she heard the last few movements of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ and a piece of music she did not recognise. It had a hauntingly beautiful melody but with a dark edge to it. In the end she had come away with more questions and even fewer answers.

Clara had also seen Missy face to face twice over the course of those two days. Once in the console room when she had been doing a few repairs on the TARDIS controls. The Time Lady had waltzed in, wearing yet another rather lovely dress (this time it was a silky sage green), sat herself on the console and demurely crossed her legs. When Clara lifted her head up from the circuitry all she could see was leg. Long, glorious expanses of smooth leg.

Missy hadn’t given a reason for being there but had given some useful direction in fixing the circuitry whilst flirting atrociously with her. The most obvious of her lines had been _‘would you like that screw now dear’_ whilst Clara was trying to put one of the panels back on again. The words were backed up by Missy running her heel clad foot up Clara’s back. She had nearly snapped the panel in half she was gripping it that vigorously.  The other woman had been like a whirlwind and had disappeared as quickly as she had arrived, leaving Clara hot and bothered.

The second time had been in the library. Clara had been sat at one of the reading tables, part of the way through ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ when Missy had sauntered in. The Time Lady had searched along the shelves, running her right hand against the spine of the books in an overly sensual way. Clara had tried to remain focused on her book and when that hadn’t worked, she had tried to pretend she was still focused on it. Occasionally she dared glance at the other woman, looking away just as quickly for fear of being caught. She was sure she could feel Missy’s eyes on her too, like the other woman was doing the same.

The Time Lady had found what she was looking for and sat down across the small table from Clara. When she finally braved a glance up, she realised the Time Lady was reading ‘A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams. That had caused Clara to snort in an undignified manner before she buried her nose back in her book again. She was sure Missy had picked that title purely to draw a reaction out of her, especially when the other woman’s eyes had been peering over the top of the book waiting for her to notice. 

They had sat and read together in what had developed into a comfortable silence for nearly an hour. Missy had actually sat and read a sizable chunk of the book, quietly engrossed by it. The only evidence that Missy wasn’t one hundred percent focused on the book and still had some of her attention on Clara was the occasional brush of her foot against Clara’s own.

She had presumed the contact was accidental the first couple of times. Then it started to become apparent that Missy was casually teasing her. The Time Lady’s almost childlike persistence was oddly endearing, and Clara hadn’t been able to prevent the smile spreading across her face each time it happened. The odd peace they had been enjoying was broken when Ashildr had walked in, glared at them both like a petulant teenager, and started banging around the library. Missy, like she had in the console room, had left as suddenly as she had appeared.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Apparently, the trip out into the wilderness had done little good to clear her mind of the Time Lady. She had barely noticed all the lovely woodland scenery and was clattering through the forest with so little grace that every animal had scattered long before she reached them. Not only had she not been paying attention where she walked, she had not been vigilant about her surroundings. Clara had thought the planet was uninhabited – it was meant to be uninhabited – so it had come as a great shock to suddenly have three scantly dressed men holding spears at her.

Clara had been held prisoner by these spear wielding men for well over an hour. They had taken her a short distance to their primitive settlement, shoved her in a locked hut with food and drink and left her. She had watched them (and the few others in the village) erect a spittle over a fire pit through a gap in the wooden panelling. She had a horrible feeling it was for her, something which was confirmed when they reappeared and dragged her outside.

Of all the ways in which she could meet her end, this was not a scenario she had ever imagined. She was technically already dead – could she even be cooked, cut up and ate by cannibals? Clara had no idea how she was going to get out of this mess or if it was even possible. It was unlikely Ashildr was going to swoop in and save the day. Her friend was still refusing to leave Missy alone in the TARDIS and probably wasn’t playing a blind bit of notice to what was going on out here. The planet had seemed safe and Ashildr was spending most of her time in the deepest depths of the ship at the moment.

She tried pulling away from the two men who were holding her, but it was no use, their grip only tightened. They pulled her over to the spittle and began to tie her arms against her side. The ropes were painfully tight and bit into her skin. At least they seemed content to cook her whilst still dressed, it would preserve some of her dignity in her final moments at least. One of the men stuffed a piece of hollowed out wood in her mouth, probably to drain away any juices, and they began to drag her the final couple of feet to the spittle.

All Clara could see in front of her was the large roaring flame. Now she was face to face with it fear started to take over and she tried to use what little weight she had to unbalance the men. It was completely ineffective.

Then the flames just suddenly disappeared like they had been doused out by a ton of water. Standing on the other side of the clearing stood a figure who had previously been blocked from view by the fire pit. It was Missy, dressed in that long leather jacket again, and she was pointing her sonic device in the direction of the doused fire.

“Sorry to spoil your fun but that meal is already spoken for boys” Missy announced gleefully.

The words were followed by an ostentatious wink, aimed firmly at Clara. If she wasn’t so pleased to see the other woman, she’d have rolled her eyes at the innuendo and the cocky presumptuousness it held. It was a bit hard to react in any way at all when your arms were tied down and you had something jammed down your mouth.

One of the men stepped forward threateningly towards the Time Lady and it was in that moment Clara realised that Missy left another device in her left hand – it looked very similar to the device she had used to disintegrate people with that first occasion Clara had met her. It brought back some nasty memories of cyberman Danny, images she hadn’t thought about for years.

To her great relief Missy didn’t point it at the attacker (although she couldn’t have really blamed the other woman if she had) and instead disintegrated the spear he hurtled at her instead. There was a sense of panic from the men and woman around Clara. One more hunter tried his luck, but his spear shared a similar fate to the first. That was enough to spook them for good and they all took off into the tree line in the opposite direction of the Time Lady.

“Bye then” Missy waved sarcastically at the fleeing villagers.

Clara was left bound up and stood alone in the middle of the clearing, feeling extremely grateful to the other woman and just a little bit excited by it all. It was a much better feeling than the choking fear that had taken hold just moments before.

She began to walk around the fire pit and towards the Time Lady, managing (with a bit of effort) to spit out the tube from her own mouth. Missy was watching every step she made with a facial expression that Clara hadn’t seen before. She knew what it looked like – like relief and affection – like despite the cool way she had appeared in the clearing, there had been a storm of worry hidden beneath. Missy had been worried enough to actually leave the TARDIS, something she had seemed reluctant to do over the last few days and come to her rescue.

“How did you…?” Clara began to ask, only to be cut off by the other woman.

“Your ratty little friend was having kittens because you were in trouble but wouldn’t leave the TARDIS to save you.”

Clara cringed at Missy’s description of Ashildr, sure that the other woman had probably addressed her friend in this manner as well. She was a little offended that Ashildr had not dropped everything to come and check she was okay but not entirely surprised. The immortal had been alive for a long time, she was used to people dying around her. Clara suspected that if it came down to it Ashildr would probably pick the TARDS, her free ticket around the universe, over her. She wouldn’t blame her, perhaps she would even make the same decision, although probably not.

“So, she sent you?” Clara asked – a hint of disbelief in her tone.

She doubted Ashildr would trust Missy to rescue her.

“No!” Missy scoffed – “I told her she was a rubbish friend who was very materialistic for a girl from a poxy little Viking village and came to rescue you myself.”

Clara sighed and shook her head. No doubt she would get it in the ear when she returned to the TARDIS. Not that she had any intention on scolding Missy although was curious how the Time Lady knew so much about Ashildr and her origins. Did Missy keep track of all the Doctor’s adventures across the galaxy? Probably, it wouldn’t surprise Clara.

The other woman bent down to pick up a spare strand of rope from the floor, tugging on it to test its strength. Clara allowed herself the luxury of admiring the other woman whilst Missy’s attention was elsewhere. The leather coat reached down below her knees when stood although it had crept just above as Missy bend over. Clara presumed Missy was wearing a dress under the coat but with the Time Lady you could be sure. She shook her head at the notion, trying to put the image out of her mind.

The coat certainly suited Missy, it was fitted and had an air of danger, making it a perfect replacement for the Victorian garb she usually intimidated people in. Missy had been wearing red lipstick since taking up residence in Clara’s TARDIS but today she was wearing quite a vibrant shade of pink. Her nails were a very similar shade and her hair was styled and sweeping across her face in a side fringe. The other woman looked dressed to kill but not a drop of blood had been shed. Clara appreciated that despite the fact her captors had planned to cook her alive.

 “Thank you” Clara smiled genuinely.

For rescuing her, for not just destroying everything in her sight…for brightening up her world over the last few days in Missy’s own slightly unsettling way. The Time Lady looked up at Clara again, her blue eyes holding a great deal of surprise at being the focus of anyone’s gratitude. Or perhaps that it was being so freely given.

“You’re welcome Clara Oswald” the other woman replied – her face dipping as she spoke.

Clara was sure Missy was trying to hide a blush. If it had happened prior to her resurrection of Gallifrey she’d have pointed it out gleefully, keen to get one up on the other woman. There was no desire to put Missy on the spot any more or trade verbal blows with her. If given half the chance Clara would prefer to hug her but her arms were still tied to her side. It was probably a good thing, Missy might combust if Clara randomly showed any physical signs of affection. Either that or they would end up enacting the reproductive frenzy of her messy little food chain right here in the forest. Clara’s mind was caught between worrying that Missy was flirting purely to wind her up and starting to believe that the attention was genuine. 

“Are you going to untie me?” the smaller brunette asked.

The Time Lady looked Clara up and down, eyes lingering on the rope that was wrapped around her upper body. For one horrible moment, she thought the other woman was going to leave her tied up and expect her to walk all the way back to the TARDIS like that.

“Yes of course” Missy grinned, her eyes glinting wickedly - “but let’s keep the rope!”

Apparently, the Time Lady had an entirely different type of torture on her mind.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The walk back to the TARDIS had been an odd but pleasant one. If Clara had expected to be teased mercilessly then she was very much mistaken. Missy had walked shoulder to shoulder with her, casually conversing about the planetary system they were currently in. It always appeared like the Doctor explored whilst the Master destroyed. Yet Missy had a deep knowledge of the interesting fauna that Clara had planned to admire as well as the beautiful and unusual asterisms that resided in this part of the galaxy.

For a long period of time, she had simply listened to the Time Lady speak, eyes following Missy’s actively gesturing hands. At some point the nearest of those hands had stopped gesturing and linked through Clara’s arm, pulling her closer against the other woman’s leather clad side. It had made her feel lightheaded, to be that close to her, but she had made no attempt to move away.

They had remained like that the rest of the way back to the TARDIS, Missy only releasing her to allow Clara to step through the door of the dinner first. Ashildr was waiting for them in the console room, leant against the console panel with her arms crossed, fingers rapping against her lower arm. Clara was expecting her friend to be annoyed but instead her countenance was that of concern.

“Are you okay?” Ashildr asked – pushing off the console and taking a step towards her.

Clara didn’t get a chance to reply. Instead Missy strode pass the both of them, cutting in as she went.

“She’s fine” the Time Lady chuckled - “her meat is still rare.” 

Ashildr looked at Clara in confusion, unaware that she was almost someone’s dinner and that the weird remark did actually make sense. Missy headed straight out of the console room and back into the depths of the ship. All that casual conversation now gone with Ashildr present. Clara watched her go with a sense of longing because although the other woman’s proximity had come as a surprise when they had first linked arms, she now missed that physical contact.

When Clara finally looked back at her friend, she realised that Ashildr had been watching her the whole time. There had been no attempt to hide what she was feeling from the outside world. The immortal woman was suspicious enough already and now Clara’s own face had just gone and betrayed itself.

“I still don’t like her” Ashildr sighed, taking a different tact to that which Clara had expected – “but I do accept that she does like you and more than she’d care to admit.”

Clara was sure the feeling was mutual between her friend and Missy. At some point that would have to be rectified if Missy was going to stay or they were at least going to have to learn to be amicable. As for the other woman’s second point – well it was probably true that the Time Lady cared about her in some way or another. She wasn’t sure if ‘like’ was the right word though, not when Missy had previously seemed to hold the human race in such low regard. What had Missy previously caller her? Nano-brain? The Doctor’s puppy? Clara supposed that people liked their pets, but it wasn’t the type of fondness that held any respect.

“I don’t know how much Missy can truly like anyone” she voiced to her friend.

There it was, Clara’s big fear, out loud and on the table to be discussed. She had smiled and blushed at the Time Lady’s flirtations but had also gently batted them off. That wasn’t just a trust issue – it was a doubt that Missy was capable of falling as deeply for her as she potentially could for Missy. That wasn’t solely because of the other woman’s past but also because she was a Time Lord (Lady). Clara had been the focus of the Doctor’s affection and she believed that he truly loved her. He couldn’t give that love freely and it had been an obsessive love. Clara wasn’t sure if she was capable of dancing that dance again.

“I don’t know how she knew something was wrong but minutes after the TARDIS picked up other lifeforms around you, she appeared in the console room demanding to know what was going on” Ashildr spoke up.

Clara gazed at her friend, trying to interpret the intentions of her words. The younger looking woman was smiling slightly but there was a look of defeat on her face. Like her friend was starting to give up on any attempts to fight Missy’s ongoing presence.

“Your Time Lady was really quite concerned for your safety” Ashildr admitted – “I’d say frantically so.”

If Clara’s heart could still flutter, it would be doing so right about now because the idea of Missy being so worried about her that she was ‘frantic’ hinted at a depth of emotion behind the flirting that Clara had previously avoided hoping for.

“She isn’t MY Time Lady” Clara corrected – her friends phrasing taking several seconds to sink in.

It drew a sharp, short laugh from Ashildr, the immortal woman throwing her head back for dramatic effect. Clara felt like she was being mocked but mockery was better than just not speaking to her. That was how they had spent the previous two days.

“If you say so” the other woman smirked.

Ashildr was as capable as Missy when it came to pulling annoyingly smug faces. It tended to be after rescuing Clara from her own daring over eagerness. There was nothing worse than a ‘I am older and wiser than you’ face on a teenager. 

“I’m going to go take a shower” Clara sulked.

 

XXXXXXXXXXX

 

Clara had gone for a shower but only after going for a long swim in the ships pool. She had pushed herself, swimming length after length in the hope of switching her mind off. Missy’s arm linking her own was not a sensation easily forgotten, nor where her piercing blue eyes. They had drawn Clara back to the corridor outside of the Time Lady’s rooms. As usual, the door was invitingly slightly open.

Clara knocked lightly on the door, waiting several seconds before knocking again. When Missy didn’t reply the second time, she pushed open the door and entered the other woman’s living room space. Missy wasn’t sat at the desk, nor was she sat by the fire. The door to what she presumed was a bedroom was closed as it had been every time Clara had been in the other woman’s space. There was no piano music playing from the other room, but the door was open, so Clara quietly headed through into the plain space.

For a moment, she thought Missy wasn’t in this room either but then the slightest of sounds caught her attention. She climbed up the two steps that led into the room and noticed a white blouse covered elbow resting on one of the two large leather chairs that faced away from the door. Clara slowly stepped towards the two chairs, weary that her company may not be welcomed even though the door was partly open. She heard the noise that had alerted her to Missy’s presence again – it sounded like a sob but surely the Time Lady couldn’t be crying?

Missy only seemed to notice her presence as Clara slid down into the seat next to her. The other woman glanced across, and Clara felt her chest tighten when she realised that Missy was actually crying. The other woman’s cheeks were tear stained and her eyes glistened even more than normal. Clara was surprised just how beautiful Missy looked in her distress, it figuratively took her breath away. She wanted to reach out and grasp a hand or put her arms around the other woman – just something to comfort her. Considering she was witnessing Missy as her most vulnerable it was amazing the Time Lady was allowing her presence at all.

They sat in silence at first apart from the occasional quiet sob from the taller brunette. Missy looked ahead of them in the direction of the piano, her head resting back against the leather high chair. Clara was contemplating the many ways she could try to start a conversation with the other woman without being too pushy. In the end she decided upon the simplest of questions.

“Missy what’s wrong?” she asked.

The Time Lady tilted her head, so her temple rested against the back of the chair and she was looking directly at Clara. Those piercing blue eyes looked the most haunted Clara had ever seen, even more haunted than the Doctor when he still thought he had destroyed Gallifrey.

“I’ve destroyed so many lives Clara, indirectly and directly” the other woman murmured.

It was said with such sadness that Clara didn’t doubt her sincerity for even a second. She’d sensed a change in Missy’s demeanour the second the other woman had woken up in the medical bay. There had been something less dangerous, something softer. Missy had previously felt like standing by a fire, the way its flames dances could be beautiful, but it was deadly if you happened to get to close to it. Was this the key to this change the simple fact that the Time Lady was starting to feel remorse?

“Thousands of years spent making others hurt as much as I was hurting - so much rage, so much hate” the other woman continued – her voice increasing in volume as she spoke.

Clara could feel that anger in Missy’s voice but this time it was being turned inwards and not directed outwards at others. It sounded a lot like self-loathing, something she had never expected to hear from the Time Lady. Clara probably looked as taken by surprise as she felt but she couldn’t look away from the other woman.

“Time Lord memories are terrible things” Missy sobbed - “you don’t forget – not the faces, not the screams or the pleas for mercy.”

Missy seemed to be winding herself up and it hurt to see her in such a state. Clara cared – god help her she cared – and she wished she could take it all away. All those years of being driven half mad thanks to Rassillion and his poncing High Council. All that anger and jealousy that the Doctor got to see wonders whilst she saw horrors. Clara would take it all.

“Missy” she said softly, trying to calm the other woman.

She wasn’t sure if the Time Lady even heard her. Missy seemed lost in her own mind, worry lines evident across her face.

“I know you probably think its impossible for someone like me to change or even just be a little bit better…” Missy fretted – lightly tapping her fingers against the arm of the chair.

The direction of this tearful conversation still continued to catch Clara off guard. She had no idea how to deal with Missy in the mood and mindset, she barely had the measure of the other woman when she was acting normally – or normal for Missy, which wasn’t any kind of normal at all.

“You just chose to eviscerate a fire and a couple of spears instead of some very aggressive cannibals” Clara tried to use light humour - “that’s pretty good progress!”

Like most humour it was based on some truth. It would have been no surprise to Clara if Missy had just killed everyone in sight. The other woman had chosen not to harm anyone – it had all been sound without fury. Clara had felt like her rescue was the complete focus of Missy’s attention and not the opportunity for violence it had presented.

“Is that the standard I’m judged on? Whether I can go a day without killing anyone?” Missy retorted.

It was the sharpest the Time Lady had been with her since waking on the TARDIS, although Missy had been sharp with Ashildr when Clara hadn’t been present. The other woman did have the good grace to look apologetic for her outburst and covered her face with her hands in frustration.  

She hadn’t meant to hurt Missy’s feelings – but she could see that by trying to turn it into a joke that it had appeared she wasn’t taking the Time Lady seriously. There was nothing further from the truth. Clara was deeply interested in everything Missy had to say, never more so than today.

 “I’m not judging you” she promised.

Although Missy’s face was turned in her direction, the other woman had been staring off into space for some while. At Clara’s words, the Time Lady’s focus returned to her again. Those blue eyes flickered across her face, searching for an answer to a question but Clara wasn’t sure what that question was.

Missy’s fingernails continued to tap against the wooden arm of the chair. The volume had grown over the last couple of minutes to the point where Clara could here to sound clear as day. She realised that the other woman was tapping out a constant rhythm – a four beat rhythm. It was the drum beat that Missy had described to her in the diner, the one the High Council had implanted in her head.

On instinct, Clara reached out and covered Missy’s hand with her own, stilling it instantly. Their hands entwined naturally, like they were designed to fit together that way. The Time Lady’s eyes fell shut, the worry lines slowly started to ease, and her features softened. Although Missy’s eyes were closed, Clara knew the Time Lady would be aware she was staring. Clara could feel that tightness in her chest again as she gazed upon the other woman, enjoying the feeling of the woman’s warm hand in her own. The contact seemed to have calmed some of the storm that had been raging just moments before.

“This is why I haven’t left” Missy admitted after a prolonged comfortable silence.

The other woman opened her eyes again as she spoke. The tears had stopped but the tear tracks on her face remained. Clara waited with bated breath for the Time Lady to continue. She wasn’t sure exactly what Missy meant but it felt meaningful.

“Since I’ve been here that drum beat…it’s so much quieter.”

The words hung between them for a moment as they held eye contact. Although Missy hadn’t mentioned her directly, Clara understood the implication of her words. ‘Here’ wasn’t the TARDIS, it wasn’t a location, ‘here’ was a person – it was Clara. That’s why the door was always open to her, yet closed shut when Ashildr passed by. That’s why Missy had been seeking her out on the days when Clara hadn’t visited her – the library, the console room. 

It was a lot to take in. Clara couldn’t deny that she was developing feelings for Missy – feelings other than dislike, distrust and irritation – although it would be easier and saner to pretend otherwise. Those niggly little feelings of adoration meant that the Time Lady’s words made her feel a good couple of degrees warmer than before along with some other floaty romantic sensations. She wasn’t quite ready to voice those feelings – not when it was all so new, and she didn’t understand the depth of them yet. It could just be a passing attraction – Missy was a beautiful intelligent woman – being physically attracted to her was a reasonable reaction (and not entirely a new one for Clara). She needed more time to truly know if it was something deeper and more permanent.

Clara needed to go carefully because right now Missy was showing vulnerability which meant she would be easy to hurt. The last thing Clara wanted to do was cause the other woman any more distress. The topic of feelings needed to be avoided so she went down a more practical route.

“Right now, you are winding yourself up by reflecting on the past” Clara said gently – giving Missy’s hand a comforting squeeze.

“I was locked in a vault for eighty years Clara, reflecting on the past was all I could do” the Time Lady replied.

Was that really how Missy had spent those years? Caged, bored, lonely – reflecting on everything that had led to that point? Playing sad piano music to distract herself? Had she wished that the Doctor had executed her rather than lock her away?

That was all in the past now and that was where it deserved to stay. They could carve something new out for themselves.

“Well you are not locked in that vault now so put it behind you and look to the future” Clara encouraged - “we have all of time and space to explore.”

For the first time since Clara had entered the room, Missy smiled as she considered the smaller woman’s words. Her eyes left Clara’s for the first time in what felt like an age as she propped her chin up on the hand that wasn’t grasped in Clara’s.

“Saving lives and playing the hero?” the Time Lady asked.

There was a hint of amusement in the other woman’s tone. It wasn’t dismissive – the idea wasn’t abhorrent to her, just unlikely sounding. It was unlikely sounding to Clara too, but it wasn’t what she had been suggesting. There was no desire to shape Missy into something completely unrecognisable, no need to shape her in an image of another Time Lord they both knew well. Clara knew that he had always failed to reach Missy (or the Master) because he had a very singular idea of what they should be.

“I’m not the Doctor” Clara countered gently - “most of the time we are just travellers.”

Sometimes those explorations had let to adventures and sometimes they had saved people – perhaps her and Ashildr had occasionally been heroic. It wasn’t the reason why Clara bounced around in time and space in her dimensionally engineered diner. It was for the sheer joy of being able to see wonders and she was running. She was running from an eventual date with an extraction chamber on Gallifrey and she intended to run for a good long while yet. They could run together.

“No, you’re not the Doctor” Missy agreed after a short pause.

The Time Lady turned her face to look at Clara again, her expression kinder than Clara had ever witnesses and filled with an unmistakable affection.

“It suits you” Missy grinned.

Clara had once prided herself on being a ‘good Doctor’ – at how well she could play the role when the situation called for it. In the years that had followed their forced separation she had learnt that she was even better at being Clara Oswald. She had taken on the best of his advice – to run fast, never be cruel and always be kind – and shed the things that made him so wonderfully faulted. She still ate pears for a start.

Silence fell between the two women but like the time in the library it was the pleasant sort. The sort where you could be in someone’s company and just enjoy their presence, with no words or mindless chatter required. Their hands remained comfortable entwined together, Clara’s thumb playing lightly over the smooth skin of Missy’s own. No, Clara didn’t have words to describe what she was feeling yet, but it wasn’t fleeting or superficial. It was something – it could just become everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has commented so far x


	4. I Found Solace in the Strangest Place

Clara had left Missy’s rooms the day before and headed straight to her own. She hadn’t emerged since, having buried herself in ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ and finished it. Clara had also spent a lot of time trying to think of somewhere good to visit next, somewhere that would tempt Missy back out of the TARDIS on a fun adventure. Eventually she had decided that it would be better to go somewhere new, somewhere they could explore together, rather than a place that Clara had visited before.

She headed to the library, determined to raid the vast number of books in there for a good idea. Missy’s door was partly open as she passed by but there was no sign of the soft piano music that often emanated from the room. Clara was barely a metre passed the door when the Time Lady’s voice called after her, using her name to draw Clara back to the doorway.

She pushed the door open and entered the room to find Missy stood by the desk. Clara suspected the other woman had been sat at the desk before hearing her passing by. Missy still held an open book in both hands, it looked like a novel of some description.

“How did you know it was me?” Clara asked as she closed the door behind her.

 “I always know” the other woman replied smoothly.

The Doctor had said something similar once, that he always knew when she was there. At the time there had been a whole audience of noisy medieval men and women but somehow, he had picked her out of the crowd. He’d played pretty woman on the electric guitar to her. It was absolutely the most charming thing her had ever done or said to her. It was only when he thought he may die or that she may die that he was ever emotionally open with her. 

Missy stepped around the desk so there was no furniture between the two of them. She was wearing a sage green dress, all one colour but made up of lots of chequerboard patterns of thread. The neckline was demure, and the sleeves reached down to the top of Missy’s lower arm. It came down just below Missy’s knees, narrowing like a pencil skirt and with a small slit up one side. It was nowhere near as revealing as the green dress the Time Lady had been wearing the night Clara had brought her pizza, but Missy still looked wonderful. Clara let her eyes linger on the other woman appreciatively, not concerned that the other woman could see the blatant admiration.

“What are you reading?” Clara asked – eyeing the book that was held between perfectly painted hot pink fingernails.

Missy angled the book up so she could see the cover. It was Dante Alighieri’s ‘The Divine Comedy’ – one of the greatest works in Earth literature but not one for the faint hearted. Some of its descriptions of Dante’s journey through the levels of hell created disturbing imagery. Despite this darkness it was also a story of hope, spirituality and love. Dante’s love of Beatrice was one of deep devotion.   

“All hope abandon, ye who enter here” the Time Lady quoted dramatically.

It drew a smile to Clara’s face, the English teacher in her enjoying a passionately read bit of prose. She wondered if she could convince Missy to read Shakespeare to her one day. The Time Lady’s Scottish brogue would probably lend itself beautifully to one of his tragedies. Speaking of tragedies, she never had found out how the Time Lady had gotten herself killed.

Missy’s eyes casually skirted down and up Clara’s own outfit, allowing some of the pages of the book to flick over as she stared. Clara was wearing skinny black jeans, a low cut glittery black vest top with a fitted black suit jacket over the top. Ashildr had noted that her dress sense had become less casual since their ‘guest’ had joined them on the TARDIS. Clara had ignored the comment, but it was true that she had been taking more care in her appearance.

“You wanted to know what happened on the Mondessian ship?” Missy asked.

Clara looked at the other woman, her expression undoubtedly a little wide eyed. She knew the Time Lords could use touch telepathy, or at least the Doctor could. Were Missy’s abilities more developed? Had she read Clara’s mind? Or were her thought processes and facial expressions really that obvious and easy to read? She didn’t get a chance to ask before Missy started talking again.

“The Doctor decided I should be let out of my vault to lead on an adventure, only for it to turn out to be the worst possible choice” the Time Lady began to explain - “my last regeneration was there but of course I didn’t remember the events.”

Clara had some experience of the phenomenon having met two of the Doctor’s previous regenerations when she was traveling with the bow tie regeneration. He couldn’t remember the events as they were unfolding (it would have been very helpful if he did) and later had explained to her why.

“Because Time Lords cannot remember when they cross their own future timelines to prevent paradox’s” she chirped – pleased to be able to show off her own knowledge.

“Exactly” the Time Lady smiled.

As Missy spoke, she placed the book down on the desk and circled around to the other side, dropping back into the comfortable looking leather covered chair. Clara stepped closer to the front of the desk, waiting for the other woman to continue recounting the events that had led up to Clara rescuing her. 

“To cut a long story short, we were present for the genesis of the cybermen and I ended up stabbing my former regeneration, leaving him enough time to return to my TARDIS so he could regenerate into me. Except, he…I…didn’t take to kindly to it and he shot me.”

Of all the weird and terrible scenario’s Clara could have dreamed up, never in a million years could she had imagined the one that Missy had just described. It took her a few seconds to get it straight in her head. The Time Lady had stabbed herself…and then shot herself. That was all kinds of messed up. The Master had chosen to end his own future existence – that flew in the face of what Missy had said in the Italian plaza – that death was for other people.

“Is that murder or suicide or…?” Clara asked – her voice trailing off towards the end of the question.

Missy raised both hands, palms up, and shrugged. Her lips were upturned in a slight smile, suggesting she found the whole thing as utterly ridiculous as Clara. She supposed there was little else the other woman could do but laugh it off. It was hard to be furious with yourself although it seemed that for a long time Missy had been at war with herself.

“I did it so I could return to the Doctor and fight by his side. Without hope, without witness, without reward” the Time Lady clarified - “apparently the past version of me didn’t approve of that plan.”

The Doctor had been forced to regenerate in what was obviously a hopeless situation. Hell, he’d even expected to die. So, Missy had planned to go back and fight with him knowing she would face the same fate. Clara supposed that it didn’t matter too much in the end whether it was an old version of herself or a cyberman that did the deed. On the other hand, the Doctor didn’t know that his oldest friend had planned to stand by his side. Knowing how much he cared about Missy despite all that had happened between them, Clara found that very sad. Perhaps one day they would be able to let him know. Well, Missy could, he didn’t remember Clara – or at least he didn’t recognise her or remember the most important details.

Silence fell between the two women, so Clara picked up one of the books stacked on the edge of the Time Lady’s desk. It was half out of curiosity and half because her hands needed not to be idle right now. She stroked her fingers along the old leather cover of the book. Clara loved old books – there was something more romantic about leather bound books compared to modern paperbacks. They had a certain smell about them and a weight in your hands that felt more satisfying.

Ironically, it was a copy Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’. It wasn’t the female monologue Clara had been envisioning – Missy was more of a Lady Macbeth than an Ophelia. Although after learning about that little gem, perhaps drowning herself in a river wasn’t out of the realms of possibility after all.

“When is it tonight for you?” the other woman suddenly asked.

Clara still held the book between both hands but turned her focus back to the seated woman. Missy was looking up at her expectantly, eyes fixed on her from beneath masses of long dark auburn hair.

“Pardon?” she queried.

“When would you class as evening time on this ship of yours?” Missy repeated.

Was Missy trying to understand the routine of their TARDIS? Surely, she would have worked it out by herself for now, not that it was an exact science at the best of times on a ship that moved through both time and space.

“Hard to tell as I don’t really sleep anymore” Clara shrugged - “probably in about four hours, why?”

Missy placed both her hands on the desk in front of her, wringing them together tightly. The other woman seemed twitchy, nervous even. Clara had seen a flash of a similar look in the Time Lady’s eyes a long time ago – when they had been stood in the deserts of Skaro overlooking the Dalek city. Why did Missy look fearful now? It increased Clara’s curiosity tenfold and she stepped even closer to the desk, so the front of her thighs was pressed against the hard-wooden edge.

“Do you want to have a drink with me tonight?” the Time Lady swallowed - “I have a fake roaring fire and a fabulous bottle of red I found in the ships wine cellar.”

Clara couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face at Missy’s words. The other woman had been nervous because she was building up to asking her on what sounded very much like a date. Had that been Missy’s intention from the moment she called Clara into the room? And when did the TARDIS develop a wine cellar?

It was ironic that she had been passing to search for ideas for a date with the other woman. Oh, she hadn’t labelled it as such – but obsessing over the perfect place to take someone – that was a date. She didn’t mind being beaten to the punch one little bit. What Missy was offering, a quiet evening spent in each other’s company, was far more intimate sounding than anything Clara would have dared to suggest.

“I’d like that” she agreed.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Clara thought it best she put in an appearance in the console room at some point today. There was no guarantee that Ashildr would be there, especially considering they were safely parked in the Milky Way. When Clara entered the room was quiet, the only sound the hum of the TARDIS console. For a second, she thought she was alone but then she heard the sound of a page of a book being flicked over. In the corner of the room sat her friend, relaxing back on one of the comfy console room chairs and reading an encyclopaedia of planets.  

“So, I thought we could explore one of those pleasure planets we read about a couple of weeks ago, you can bring you psychopathic friend with us?” Ashildr suggested – without looking up from her large book.

It was a step forward that the other woman was willing to spend any time near the Time Lady, although Clara suspected Ashildr just didn’t want to leave her on the ship alone. Still, it was better than her friend declaring she was going to visit a planet, but Clara would have to stay behind and baby sit – that had been the way of things over the last few days.

Except on this day it was actually inconvenient – Clara already had plans and it didn’t involve a third wheeler. She hadn’t planned to share her evening date with Ashildr for fear of a negative reaction, but the direction of the conversation didn’t leave her with much choice.

“Can we leave it a day?” she asked nervously - “Missy asked me if I wanted to have a drink with her tonight.”

This certainly caught Ashildr’s attention and she put her book down, looking up at Clara for the first time since she had walked into the room.

“Ohhh where are you going?” the other woman asked.

Ashildr stood up and walked to the opposite side of the console. Her curiosity made Clara a little embarrassed and she dipped her head to hide a blush. Both have them had enjoyed dalliances with the odd person on their travels together, but they had always happened off the TARDIS. There had been an unspoken agreement that anything like that was personal and no questions had been asked. Even the time when Clara had spent a week with Jane Austin, the other woman had just rocked up in the TARDIS to pick her up and they moved on to the next adventure. This was the first time Ashildr had ever shown an interest.

“Just in her rooms” Clara shrugged dismissively.

Her attempts to play it down and play it cool fell flat on the other woman. Ashildr’s eyebrows both crept up suggestively as she crossed her arms across her chest.

“Oh right” the other woman smirked - “would that be the bedroom?”

Clara could still feel the blush on her cheeks but she looked up at her friend so she could glare disapprovingly. Or was she simply glaring because the other woman was being irritatingly astute? Ever since Clara had left Missy’s rooms, she had thought of little else but of how the evening could go. What would it be like to kiss the Time Lady? Would she be greedy and demanding or slow and consume her with passion? Could it lead further than just kissing? Was Clara ready for it to lead further yet?

“Or is that a bit too vanilla for the pair of you? Perhaps on top of that grand piano she constantly plays would be more up your tree?” Ashildr added – biting her own lip to prevent any laughter.

Clara wanted the ground to swallow her up whole and spare her this conversation especially as the grand piano had played a role in her daydreaming. Missy had draped herself all over it that first day on the TARDIS, so her imagination had plenty to work with. She just wished her friend’s imagination wasn’t running wild too.

“I feel like you have given this too much thought” Clara protested.

“I’m just glad my room is a few corridors away, unless the TARDIS plays silly beggars again and moves it on me” Ashildr chuckled.

It was a well-known fact that their ship favoured Clara. In all the years they had travelled together it had never moved her room or any of the other rooms she used regularly. It had moved Ashildr’s room all around the place at first and although it had gotten better over the years the TARDIS did still occasionally cause mischief for the girl from the Viking village.

It hadn’t been the reaction that Clara had been expecting. Although Ashildr had been a little more generous about that Time Lady the last time they had spoken, Clara still expected abject horror to be the response to her actually dating Missy.

“I thought it was a terrible idea?” Clara asked – recalling the words Ashildr had used when she had surprised her in the library.

The other woman chortled with laughter, throwing her head back to emphasise her amusement. Clara raised a quizzical eyebrow whilst she waited to find out why her question was so amusing. When Ashildr’s laughter subsided, she made her way around the console to Clara’s side.

“Oh, it’s a horrendous idea…but my shoulder will be here to cry on if it all goes horribly wrong” her friend chortled.

Despite the amusement Ashildr seemed to take from the situation, Clara could tell the response was genuine. It was her life, her choice and ultimately it would be her mistake if shit hit the fan – but she would still have her friend.

“Awww cheers for that” Clara smiled, nudging Ashildr’s shoulder with her own as she spoke.

She was touched by the sentiment, but she had a good feeling she wasn’t going to need it. If anyone would have told her she would feel like that about Missy just a few days ago then Clara would have laughed as hysterically as her friend just did.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Clara was nervous. She had changed her clothes three times in total, finally settling on a plain dark red dress she owned. It was figure hugging, with a neckline that teased just a glimpse of bosom without giving away too much. It came to knee length and she matched it up with simple black heels and a thin black belt. She had even applied make up once before deciding it was too much, removing it and starting again with a much subtler look.

When she was finally happy with her appearance, she took a deep steadying breath, and headed down the corridor to Missy’s rooms. The door was cracked open like normal but before she had a chance to knock it opened wide to reveal the Time Lady.

“Clara” Missy eagerly greeted.

The Time Lady’s eyes moved over her greedily, taking the outfit in. Clara could see the appreciation in the other woman’s expression, and it thrilled her. Missy looked pretty damn good herself. She was also wearing a dress of a similar length to Clara’s and with a belt. Missy’s dress was more intricate though, a plain black underlay with a black lacey layer on top. It had short sleeves and a conservative neckline that only gave a glimpse of collar bone. Her hair was out and flowing down over her shoulders, red lipstick and nail vanish completing the look.

It wasn’t as revealing as the dress Missy had been wearing that night Clara had brought her pizza. The image of the Time Lady in that dress would be seared on her brain forever – the neckline that dipped down to her abdomen. This black dress, despite being much less revealing, was just as flattering. Clara couldn’t imagine forgetting the way Missy looked right now either, or ever wanting to.

“Come in” Missy encouraged – stepping aside to give her space to pass.

Clara stepped into the narrow space, close enough to the other woman to catch the scent of Missy’s perfume. She paused for a second to appreciate it. It smelt of sandalwood and spice, a perfect mixture for the other woman. The Time Lady remained very still except for her eyes which danced across Clara’s features. It would be easy for Clara to push on to her tiptoes and kiss her, they were close enough, but the younger woman wanted to enjoy the evening first before sparking anything further between them.

So, she stepped further into the room, taking in the way it looked with the main lights off. It was only lit by the fire place and the table lamp on the desk. It gave the room a more romantic air which had no doubt been Missy’s intention. The TARDIS really had done a grand job of replicating an open fire in the hearth and if she hadn’t known it was an illusion then she would have totally believed it was real. It even imitated the crackling sound of the logs burning.

Clara registered the Time Lady closing the door behind them before joining her in the middle of the room. Missy gestured for her to sit on the leather armchair facing in the direction of the desk, so Clara sat herself down demurely and crossed her legs.

“Wine?” the other woman offered.

Ah yes, the fabulous bottle of red Missy had found in the mystical wine cellar that the TARDIS had kept hidden from her. Clara would be having words with her ship about that.

“Yes please” she smiled.

Missy made her way around the desk to the unit behind it. On that side table sat a round silver tray with two glasses and a dark green bottle. It was already open, no doubt so it could breath for a while before they drank it. The Time Lady may have many questionable characteristics, but her date etiquette so far had been impeccable. As was the view Clara had of the back of Missy’s dress now the older woman was focused on pouring the wine.

She couldn’t recall Missy turning her back on her like this before, which was no surprise considering the Time Lady was usually the ultimate survivor and keeping threats in your eyeline at all time was the ultimate survival mechanism. It was a good sign that Missy was relaxed and that she trusted Clara. Something which made the younger woman feel just that little bit warmer.

After staring for several seconds Clara realised that there was a mirror on the wall close to Missy and that the Time Lady was occasionally glancing up at it as she poured. It meant that she would know Clara was staring. It drew a blush to Clara’s cheeks that the tiny bit of foundation she was wearing would do little to hide.

 “Ashildr thought we could all go to a pleasure planet tomorrow” she informed Missy – keen to strike up some sort of conversation.

The Time Lady turned back towards her holding a half full glass in either hand. A sculptured eyebrow was the first response to the idea which was better than the scoff or dismissive comment she was expecting.

“She doesn’t look like the type who would enjoy pleasure” Missy chuckled - “especially not a full planet of it.”

The Time Lady seemed to glide towards her, moving with a fluidity and grace that Clara was a little jealous of. Missy stopped between the two armchairs, next to the small round coffee table, and handed Clara one of the glasses. She was stood with the fire roaring behind her, the flickering light of the flames highlighting the other woman’s sharp and symmetrical bone structure.

The Time Lady took a mouthful of the wine before gently sitting down in the armchair across from her. Clara sniffed the wine first, unsure what type of grape it was or whether it was even an earth variety. It smelled familiar though with its hints of berry’s and spice. If it wasn’t a Malbec it was something very similar. Clara took a small taster sip of the red liquid and instantly moaned in pleasure. Missy wasn’t lying, it was an excellent vintage wine and very easy to drink.

“She tends to find the most active competitive thing going” Clara replied after a long pause - “I’m more of a hot beach and a massage kind of a girl.”

On one planet, with the most stunning glistening golden beaches and purple sea, she had managed to drag Ashildr to the beach with her. The ex-Viking has sat on the sun lounge for less than a minute before joining in with something that looked like a cross between British bulldogs and beach ball. It had been so viciously competitive that Clara had turned her deckchair the other way and put her headphones on. When Ashildr returned she looked like a woman returning from a war, but she was happy, and Clara supposed that was the most important thing.

“Mmmm me too” Missy agreed with a cheeky smirk and a wink.

Clara suspected the Time Lady had just mentally undressed her down into a skimpy bikini – or was picturing her oiled up and sprawled front first on a massage bed. Not that she had a problem with that because she had been thinking about Missy scantly clad in ‘that’ dress for days.

Clara did like the fact that she and the Time Lady were likely to be sticking together on this planet they were due to visit. A couple’s massage with Missy, who’d have thought?! Although that may be a bit premature as they were not actually a couple.

“Although I do like a more cerebral kind of challenge…like an escape room” the other woman added between sips of her red wine.

“I can’t imagine there is an escape room on any planet that could hold you for long” she laughed.

Clara could just picture Missy, smashing through the puzzles at lightening speed, and then being unbearable smug about it.

“No but that’s part of the fun” the Time Lady smirked.

Missy leant back against the back of the armchair and crossed one leg over the other, taking another sip of her wine whilst keeping her intense blue eyes locked on Clara’s. The younger brunette looked back at her over her own wine glass, tilting her head flirtatiously. Those eyes were still a little wild and they held a deep sense of sadness just like the Doctor’s did. The eyes of someone who had seen too much, things they couldn’t forget. There was also an undeniable warmth now when Missy looked at her – fondness and admiration – even a little happiness. No doubt the Time Lady saw the same sort of look in her own eyes.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Clara had been sat with Missy in the armchairs by the fireplace for well over an hour. The conversation had flowed easily, with the Time Lady regaling tales of some of her less murderous adventures and short stories of a young Doctor.

Clara had described the most ridiculous scrape her and Ashildr had gotten themselves into on their travels. Well, Clara had gotten into the mess and dragged her poor friend in after her. Alcohol had been involved and the ingestion of what appeared to be a harmless fruit. Clara probably should have followed her friends lead and researched the planets customs first. That way she wouldn’t have found herself accidently engaged to three different yellow, six eyed heterogeneous aliens. It had nearly started a civil war.

They were just finishing the last dregs of the bottle of wine as Missy recounted yet another story about the Doctor. This time it was not the distant pass she was describing but very recent history, when the other woman had been imprisoned in the vault.

“I think Pocahontas was the lowest moment” Missy finished recounting, draining the last of the glass of wine - “although they all felt pretty low to be honest.”

She finished her wine off too and held the empty glass between her hands. At some point in the evening she had moved more and more forward in her seat so that she was angled forward towards the Time Lady. At some point Missy had swivelled in the armchair so her lower back was resting in one corner with her legs were crossed and dangling over the opposite arm. She looked very relaxed and the position showed off a glorious expanse of leg.

“I can’t believe he made you watch Walt Disney movies” Clara chuckled – “was that some sort of penance for your sins?”

She placed her empty glass down on the table and placed both hands in her lap, smoothing her dress over her thighs again were it had started to ride up.

“He said they were educational” Missy shrugged – pulling a contorted ‘go figure’ facial expression as she spoke.

Clara wrinkled her nose in disgust before bursting into laughter. She’d love to know quite what he thought the Time Lady could learn from Disney. Earth history? Cartoon romance between talking animals? She dreaded to think. It was amazing that Missy hadn’t gone even more insane than she had started.

The other woman swivelled in her seat, so she was sat upright again, before reaching out to take Clara’s empty glass. It brought her much closer to Clara now they were both leant forward in their seats. Missy wasn’t looking up at first, as she was focused on the glass, giving Clara a chance to admire her up close in the firelight. It was like the other woman felt her stare and looked up at her. Up close and personal those eyes were even more spectacular, especially with the orange light of the flames reflecting in them. Those eyes flicked down to Clara’s mouth briefly, whilst Missy pulled at her own lower lip with her teeth.

They were about as physically close to each other as they could get in this position, perched on the edge of the armchairs with a coffee table between them. What had felt comfortable close as they talked now felt frustratingly far apart.

“I’ll top us up” Missy smiled softly.

The Time Lady slowly stood up and moved the cabinet behind the desk again. They had finished the last of the first bottle of wine, but the other woman reached inside the vintage cupboard and produced an identical green bottle.

Clara leant back in her armchair, her focus completely on Missy, and watched every movement. The way Missy uncorked the bottle with the ease of someone who obviously drank a lot of fine wine, the way the dress very complimentary fitted to the other woman’s figure.

As the Time Lady poured them both another wine, she subtly watched Clara in the mirror on the wall. Although it was subtle it didn’t go unnoticed by Clara. She watched Missy watching her until the wine was all poured. When the other woman didn’t turn around straight away but continued to gaze at her through the reflective surface, Clara raised a quizzical eyebrow.

“What?” she asked the Time Lady.

 “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen” Missy replied earnestly - “and I’ve been alive a long time.”

Missy did turn then, both glasses in hand, and took a small slow step around the desk in Clara’s direction. The younger woman felt like she had been hit straight through the heart by an arrow and she had to press both hands down into her lap to prevent herself pressing them over the affected area. It had been a long time since her chest had truly physically ached with emotion - since someone had been able to move her to that kind of extent.

The moment felt overwhelming. So much so that Clara felt the need to diffuse the sexual tension that hung heavy in the room. Or not diffuse it so much as ease it down a level or two, before she combusted. Wringing her hands tightly together was doing little to nothing to help.

“Are you talking to me or that mirror?” Clara quipped.

Missy smiled broadly, tipping her head back slightly in silent laughter. That fluttering feeling that had been coming more common place around the Time Lady was back and multiplied.

“Oh, the mirror for sure” the Time Lady beamed - “although you are a very close second.”

Missy was rounding the desk as she spoke, her eyes locked upon Clara dark brown orbs. Somehow, the other woman seemed even more beautiful than she had moments before. Perhaps is was the easy flirtation and the enamoured look upon her face. Clara wouldn’t have found it unreasonable if Missy was referring to herself – being a close second felt like quite the compliment from the other woman.

“I’ll take that” she smiled.

Clara stood up and stepped towards Missy, heading her off by the fireplace. She grasped the two wine glasses in the other woman’s hands and placed them on the mantlepiece, ignoring the curious intensity in the Time Lady’s eyes.

Many, many years ago she had told Danny that she had loved him and that those words were his alone. Then, she had broken that promise and said them to the Doctor in the cloisters on Gallifrey. When they had separated, she really truly believed that she would never say them again, not unless the Doctor’s memories one day returned and they came together again.

Decades had passed and she had come to accept that their paths would never truly cross again and over time those feelings had faded to a dull thud. Something that lingered on, never leaving, but never at the forefront of her mind either. Now, gazing at this beautiful and sometimes maddening woman, she realised that one day soon she was going to break that promise to Danny again.

Missy’s eyes scanned hers, waiting for some sort of clue as to why they were stood just inches apart. The Time Lady’s tongue slipped out to wet her lower lip, before visibly taking a deep swallow. The other woman didn’t reach out or close the distance between them and Clara noticed that Missy looked even more nervous than she felt.

“I have to remind myself to breathe -- almost to remind my heart to beat!” Missy said quietly - her voice thick with emotion, which brought out her Scottish accent.

It was a quote from Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, the book that Clara had been reading when the Time Lady was first on board the TARDIS.  It was quoted with such feeling and eloquence that it drew Clara instinctively closer to the other woman. They were just a hairs breadth apart, so close but not quite touching. Clara knew she needed to change that – she needed to be in contact with the other woman – so she slipped her left hand into Missy’s and tangled their fingers together.

Clara ran her thumb over the other woman’s hand and smiled at the way Missy’s eyes slipped closed.  She reached up and cupped a smooth cheek with the palm of her hand, tracing the features there with the pads of her fingers. Missy’s eyes opened and gazed at Clara with a mixture of awe and desire. They were the bluest and the brightest that she had seen them – and the most hopeful. It was an odd look on Missy, hope – but Clara thought it was spectacular.

“Clara” the Time Lady said her name like a worshiper would a prayer.

That one-word spurred Clara on and made her brave. She drew Missy down towards her and without hesitation they both slowly moved in. Their lips united – Clara’s plumper lips capturing and caressing the Time Lady’s thinner red painted lips in a soft kiss. It felt like an epiphany and Clara just wanted more and more. She moved her hand from Missy’s cheek and buried it in the waves of long hair at the back of the Time Lady’s head, pulling her in to deepen the kiss. Their joined hands untangled so that Clara could wrap her other arm around the other woman’s back and pull their bodies closer together.

They both moaned into each other’s mouth as their dress covered bodies pressed firmly together, everything growing in intensity from just open-mouthed kisses to a heady mixture of lips, tongue and teeth. Missy’s hands seemed to be everywhere as they continued to kiss – sliding across her back, down her sides, squeezing her bum through the thin material and gripping onto the back of her dress. Clara wanted to feel more of the other woman too and moved her backwards, step by step as they continued to kiss with abandon, until Missy’s hips gently collided with the side of the desk.

Clara had every intention of pushing the Time Lady onto the desk completely but then in two long strides the other woman had pushed her back against the wall between the fireplace and the permanently closed adjoining door. Missy kissed her with such a passion that Clara felt like she was being consumed and that all she could do was hang on to the other woman and let the tides of that passion sweep her away.

When they broke the kiss, Missy’s mouth instantly moved down, finding the sensitive spot at the base of her neck. Clara grasped onto the other woman more firmly as Missy’s teeth grazed across the sensitive skin before nipping at it sharply. She couldn’t control the loud moan the action dragged from her lungs. It encouraged the Time Lady to repeat the action before soothing the spot with her tongue.

Clara wanted more - more of Missy’s mouth, more of the other woman’s skin against her own – just more. She fumbled with the zip at the back of the taller woman’s dress before managing to grip it firmly and tug it right down to Missy’s waist. Her hands instantly slipped under the open material and smoothed across the flawless and soft skin of the Time Lady’s back. Missy arched further into Clara’s body, pinning her harder against the wall.

She used the opportunity to draw the black dress down over the other woman’s shoulders, revealing a black lacy bra and perfect pale skin with a smattering of freckles. Clara ran her hands over the lacy material and down to her flat stomach, splaying her palms across the skin there. Missy really was beautiful, and Clara was a little in awe of her body.

The Time Lady ran her hands over Clara’s dress covered shoulders before pulling the zip down on the red dress. She shrugged the dress down off her shoulders with the help of the other woman. Missy pulled back a little and ran her eyes down the newly exposed skin, her hands following the path of her eyes. The Time Lady’s hands shook so slightly that it was almost imperceivably, but Clara was focused in on every move and brush against her skin that she noticed it was present. The normally super confident woman was nervous.

Clara tugged at the back of her head and drew Missy forward into a slow and passionate kiss. It brought their upper bodies against each other and both women gasped breathlessly into the kiss at the warm feeling of each other’s skin. Clara had been alive a long time now and kissed many people, but she had never experienced anything this intense. From the way Missy was reacting she suspected the same was true for the other woman. Considering the Time Lady was thousands of years old that was quite a boost to Clara’s ego.

She pulled back from the kiss and brought her hand around to cup Missy’s cheek again, rubbing her thumb affectionately across the prominent zygomatic bone. There was only two ways this could go now, and both involved the removal of the rest of their clothing. One option was to do so on some of the furniture in the room they were in but given how strongly Clara felt that idea seemed to demean the occasion. She preferred option two, finding a bed so they could make take their time on a comfortable surface.  

“Have you got a bed in there or a torture chamber?” Clara motioned towards the door with her head. 

She aimed a cheeky grin in the other woman’s direction. Missy lifted her right hands and brushed the knuckles against Clara’s own cheek. The smile as she did so was warm and amused.

“Do you have a preference?” the Time Lady chuckled.

Clara leant in and kissed her again and again – in a series of short and sweet open-mouthed kisses. Missy responded eagerly, capturing Clara’s lower lip between her teeth and pulling at the same time she lightly grazed her fingernails down Clara’s upper arm. It promised a touch of mischief and excitement that appealed to Clara – it was part of Missy’s appeal to her in general.  

“Today – a bed” she smiled - “tomorrow, who knows.”

The Time Lady’s mouth was on her own in an instant. The intensity of their earlier kiss returning as the two of them tumbled towards the door, virtually crashing through it into the bedroom. There was a whole galaxy to explore in each other without even needing to leave the TARDIS. Clara didn’t intend to leave this bedroom for hours and hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for all the positive comments.


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